Innocent Brown Eyes
by Katheryn Mae
Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett. Rated M for chapter 11.
1. Prologue

AN: New _Castle_ fanfiction, since _Steps in the Sand _is my main other one (_Blue Stones _might become abandon because the storyline has become rather repetitive). I got inspired after traveling to NYC on a school trip that involved a trip through Central Park where we saw the lake that was mentioned in "Hedge-fund Homeboys" (I wanted to go see the carousel but it was too cold and my tour group didn't want to go see it). Anyways, here goes a new _Castle_ fanfic.

**Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett. **

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Innocent Brown Eyes

_Prologue _

The street was packed with people, and numerous students from one group snapped photos of each other, buildings, the crowd – anything in sight. They blinded the locals, along with each other, with each camera flash; even if the square was so well lit without the additional cameras. Chaperones from the group attempted to heard the students into a messy huddle, trying to keep them quiet as the photographer they had hired arrived on the scene. It was nearly eleven-thirty, but with this group you could barely tell, everyone was shouting to their friends, gathering themselves into groups for the photos. Waving his hands, the photographer climbed onto a small step-stool, catching the attention of the class and the crowd alike.

"And smile!" The photographer snapped two photos in the row, just being heard over the noise, his megaphone useless in the crowd. "Two more then you can all head home to sleep!" Cheering at this, the class grinned a bit more at the photographer snapped another photo, the cold seeming to melt from them as they waited.

Once the photos had been taken, the photographer stepped off his stool and approached the head chaperone as the students disbanded from the huddle and returned to snapping photos. The chaperone handed over a manilla envelope, which the photographer tucked into his backpack, before watching the crowds disperse. Other chaperones on the trip gathered the students into a group, but then froze as one of the students gave a loud shout, pushing the crowd away from the grate where they had taken their photos. Some though, remained motionless, staring at the dirty city ground in shock, too stunned to move or speak.

"What's going on?" Mr. Alstard, the head chaperone pushed his way back towards the shocked students, before stopping besides them.

The girl wore a faint grin, as if she had been in the group photo as well, and it seemed as if she had simply fallen asleep on the bench behind them after the photo. It looked that way too, her face was relaxed and she looked peaceful, but the limp grasp in which she held a small shopping bag from FAO Schwartz was too obvious. No one even needed to look at the blood that had soaked through her t-shirt from a bullet wound to ask any questions.

"Someone call 911!" Mr. Alstard shouted those words and the group went into a panic, trying to push themselves back into the huddle they had just left, staring frightened at the girl slumped on the bench. A chaperone, Mrs. Clemonts, hurried forwards, dialing as she went.

"No..." Mrs. Clemonts' voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone seemed to hear it, "It can't be."

"It is," Mr. Alstard replied quietly, "Get everyone into a group, double-check everyone, get them onto the buses and make sure no one leaves." Nodding, Mrs. Clemonts gathered the other chaperones around her, passing on Mr. Alstard's instructions, before leading the deathly silent class onto the two Coach buses that had parked around the corner. Mr. Alstard remained motionless besides his student's body, speaking into Mrs. Clemonts' cell phone, as the photographer scanned the area, snapping photographs of the scene.

The excitement from the trip had died, sobs and screams filling the two buses, students hugging each other, looking for a sense of comfort. Silent head-counts were taken, and re-taken, before the buses' doors closed, locking the students and chaperones inside to wait for the police to arrive on the scene.

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**AN: Think I should continue it?**

**KM x**


	2. Chapter One

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

- - -

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter One _

The precinct was crowed for five AM, trying to hold nearly a hundred extra people and its usual staff. Distraught students were huddled together in small groups, the shock still visible on their faces, now mixed with exhaustion. A few feet away, even more exhausted looking chaperones stood in a circle, conversing in low tones. Piles of blankets sat scattered around the halls, some students were curled up in them while others used them a make-shift pillows or cushions. A large box of chips and packets of muffins sat on the table in the lounge, two pots of steaming hot chocolate next to the half-empty box in hopes of keeping the students awake.

"We're here," Ryan announced loudly as he and Esposito stepped off the elevator, a half-awake Castle following them. The three of them made beelines for the lounge in hopes of grabbing cups of coffee to wake themselves up before encountering students or chaperones, but that hope was quickly dashed.

"Get anything interesting?" Mr. Alstard asked, cutting off Ryan and Esposito's path, Castle moving around them to get his own coffee.

"Nothing obvious," Ryan replied, "It's hard to get a clear picture on anything in Times Square, especially that late at night, when everyone is gathered together." He scanned the room for Beckett, who also looked half-asleep, and brushed past Mr. Alstard, heading for her.

"We'll keep you informed though," Esposito said to Mr. Alstard before meeting up with Beckett and Ryan at her desk.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Alstard followed them over, "Don't you need to know anything about her? Maybe who she was?"

"Of course," Beckett looked up from the photos that had been shot, along with the ones that the photographer had taken, "But for now, we need her name, age and contact information – once her parents are contacted then we'll see what else we need." She glanced up at Castle as he joined them, "Ryan, go talk to some of the other students, see what they know about Elizabeth," she double-checked the victim's name on the forms Mr. Alstard handed her. "And Esposito, you follow him."

"As usual," Ryan and Esposito headed off, leaving Castle and Beckett with Mr. Alstard.

"I'm Detective Beckett, and will be mainly in charge of this investigation, along with my coworkers Detectives Ryan and Esposito." Beckett stood, shaking hands with Mr. Alstard, "We'd like to keep tabs on your students and chaperones for the remainder of this trip."

"I see, for the investigation?" Mr. Alstard asked, receiving nods in response from both Beckett and Castle.

"If you don't mind though, there's nothing more I can tell you," Beckett shifted her weight slightly, "Go speak with your students, and get them back to the hotel where you are all staying, they should sleep."

"Thank you detective," Mr. Alstard shook Beckett's hand before heading towards the rest of his group and drawing the chaperones into a circle.

"So what exactly happened?" Castle asked as the chaperones lead the students out of the precinct in a single-file line towards the waiting Coach buses.

"If you were at the scene when we were called then you would know," Beckett sat back down, looking through the file folder that Elizabeth had given to the chaperones before the trip began. "Sixteen year-old female, name's Elizabeth James, murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, while standing within that group." Beckett looked up, "Shot once through the chest, even though we haven't spoken with the students yet, it seems like it was a complete shock when Mr. Alstard told us the events."

"So we're now going to interview every single person that was in Times Square between the hours of eleven and midnight to find out if anyone heard it?" Castle asked, "That will take days."

"No, first we call her parents," Beckett flipped open the file, "Then we find out who her friends are and who she was rooming with." handing a copy of the file to Castle, she looked at him, "Why weren't you there, you always insist on coming to the murder scene."

"Alexis is sick," Castle replied, "She's been throwing up and has had a fever for the past few days, I had to make sure that she was comfortable being alone for a few hours while I stopped in."

"Your mother couldn't watch her?" Beckett asked, though she was grateful that Castle had been concerned about Alexis and not put his excitement for murder mysteries first.

"She's touring with a show, I though you knew that Beckett." Castle looked over her shoulder at the file, "But Alexis is doing a bit better, we thought it was a stomach bug at first but it's this serious, I want her on meds."

"Oh, I see, hope she feels better." Beckett picked up the phone, "Now go away, I need to make this call without you watching me."

"Good luck, I want to know how they take it," Castle touched her shoulder lightly, heading towards the lounge to meet Ryan and Esposito.

Staring after Castle, Beckett dialed the number that Elizabeth had put down as her emergency number, listening to the ring. "Hello, this is Detective Kate Beckett from the New York Police Department, is this the James residence?"

"Yes, this is Marie James," a high-pitched female's voice came over the phone, "Why are you calling detective?"

"Do you have a daughter who attends the local public school, Smithson High?" Beckett small sigh.

"Yes, what's going on detective? Has something happened on the trip?" Marie's voice rose to a panic, "Is Lizzie okay?"

"Are you aware of any possible enemies your daughter could have from your school? Ones that were also going along on the trip?" Beckett sat at her desk, "Please tell me everything you know."

"What happened to Lizzie?" Marie James demanded, "Why have the police been told about her?" Her attention seemed to have shifted, "Actually, you can tell my husband and I both why you're calling. He's just gotten home from a late night at work."

"Of course," Leaning against the desk, Beckett waved a bored-looking Castle over, pointing at the phone so they could both listen; only because she knew he'd beg for every detail later.

"All right," Marie's voice came back onto the phone, "My husband and I are both here on separate phones, explain." Castle raised his eyebrows at this and looked at a calm-looking Beckett, surprised to see her allow the victim's mother speak to her in such a way.

"Your daughter was found dead late last night while traveling with her class." Beckett responded quietly, ignoring Castle's warm look and his hand suddenly taking hers and squeezing it.

"Wh-what?" Adam James asked, his voice slightly faint. "Our Lizzie?"

"I'm sorry," Beckett pulled her hand from Castle's grasp; slightly unwillingly, she had to admit, it was nice to have comfort when delivering news of death. "But due to the fact that neither of you are located in the city right now, the NYPD can arrange for lodging and transportation down to our precinct for questioning and statements during this investigation."

"No need," Adam replied, having regained some train of thought, "Our family is one of the wealthiest in the county, we can easily arrange for transportation and lodging in the city. In fact, my wife is looking for lodging right now," his pride seemed to travel by phone and Castle rolled his eyes.

"I see," Beckett made a sticky note and stuck it on Castle's chest, patting it jokingly, and when he took it, he nodded at her.

"Then if you don't mind, my wife and I should be going so we can arrive in the city at a decent hour later today." Adam stopped, "Thank you detective." He hung up without waiting for a response, leaving both Beckett and Castle silent on the other line.

"That was strange," Castle remarked, folding the sticky note into a tiny square, "He barely told us anything." He winced as Beckett hit him with a file.

"Of course he did," Beckett glared at the file she held in her hand, which she had labeled as Elizabeth's, "The family is rich, therefore who knows what they could be buying or who they know. The husband works mostly at night, or so it seems, since it's nearly five am. The mother is demanding, impatient and could seem overbearing."

"Whoa, role reversal!" Castle poked Beckett with a pen, "Are you sure you don't want to write murder mysteries with me?"

Beckett rolled her eyes at him, "I think I'll stay with being a homicide detective."

Castle grinned at this, resembling a kid who could have just gotten his first bike, "Good choice, we can stay as our dynamic duo then."

"Oh, goody," Beckett's voice was thick with sarcasm, but Castle seemed to miss it, and she headed to where Ryan and Esposito were lounged casually, drinking mugs of steaming coffee. "Just what I wanted Castle," she teased, looking over her shoulder at him as she made her own mug.

"Oh, I'm sure Beckett," Ryan smirked, "Anything that involves Castle is something you want." He and Esposito exchanged high-fives before looking towards an embarrassed Beckett and an amused Castle.

"Ha ha, very funny." Beckett dropped two folders onto the table where Ryan's feet rested, "Not." She sat in a chair besides them, sipping her coffee.

"No, no 'not'," Esposito nodded at Ryan, "It's so obvious that you and Castle want each other."

"Is it just me or are you two getting Beckett and I confused with Rook and Heat?" Castle sat on the arm of Beckett's chair, enjoying the flush that graced her cheeks at the mention of his books. "I could see that, but we've never slept together."

"Thank God," Beckett breathed a sigh of relief, getting amused chuckles in response.

"I'm hurt," Castle placed a hand on his chest, "Your words wound me deeply detective Beckett."

"Good," Beckett set her coffee down, "That ego of yours could use a dent in it." She now handed Ryan and Esposito the files, "Ryan, go run a background check on the James family and Esposito, you find out where their wealth came from and tell Lanie that I want to talk to her."

"Someone say my name?" Lanie looked into the room, "Oh, you guys, I was looking for you anyways – I think I have something you want to see Beckett."

"Coming," Beckett stood, Castle automatically rising with her, "You two go get a full history then come find us." Castle followed her and Lanie, Ryan and Esposito grumbling slightly before heading out of the lounge as well.

"Pitiful, isn't it?" Lanie looked at Castle and Beckett once they had stepped into the elevator, "She had a future, a life, family, friends – hope and dreams."

"So does every other person that you have had in other cases," Castle began, "Of course she's younger, which makes situations more tragic, but please stop reminding me that she's so young. She was nearly Alexis' age."

"Sorry Castle, is your paternal side showing too much?" Beckett looked at him, teasing him, "Guess your paternal side gets in the way when you're looking for novel ideas."

"Just want to show off my macho side for you guys." Castle replied smoothly, causing a blush to form on Beckett's cheeks and a smile on Lanie's lips.

'Oh, you're showing off for all of us?" Lanie couldn't resist embarrassing Beckett a bit about her attraction to Castle, "You sure it's not just Beckett you're trying to impress?"

"Lanie!" Beckett cried, hitting her friend lightly on the arm, "Stop it!"

"Don't stop tormenting her Lanie," Castle winked at Beckett, "She loves the attention."

"She sure does," Lanie replied after she spotted Beckett's blush and shake of the head, "She's just too embarrassed to admit it to you." They stepped off the elevator as the reached the morgue and turned to look at them, holding the elevator door open, "Now you two save you sexual banter for when you're off the clock and come look at your victim now."


	3. Chapter Two

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

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Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Two _

The lights were bright and both Castle and Beckett blinked as they stepped into the room, their eyes directed on the body in front of them. Lanie looked at them, then at Elizabeth's body on the table, before speaking.

"Come, look at this," Lanie brushed aside a loose lock of dirty blonde curls just below her right ear, opposite the bullet wound. "Thin red line around her neck on this side, looks like it could be from the necklace she is wearing."

Beckett slipped a hand into a rubber glove, picking up the necklace chain around Elizabeth's neck and holding it against the red mark. She looked up at both Castle and Lanie, "A perfect fit."

"So who gave her that necklace?" Castle began, "It could be significant to whoever killed her."

Lanie unclasped the locket slowly, bringing it to the table and laying it down, examining it slowly, and she turned it over, running her fingers over it. "Here," she unclasped it, seeing a faint engraving on the charm, "Look here."

Beckett and Castle both leaned forwards, heads bent together above the light magnifier, tilting the necklace towards them. Running a finger along the edge, Castle nodded, "Looks expensive to me."

"Got it identified," Lanie smiled, "Probably her family, old Cartier, line that's been off the market for nearly twenty years." She held out a print-out off the Cartier website, "Must be her mother's necklace."

"Nah, it's engraved," Beckett tilted the necklace's charm towards her, "'D_earest Elizabeth, I love you_.' That can't be original."

"Then who?" Castle looked at her, "Don't think it would be a family heirloom if it's engraved to her directly."

"Or someone else named Elizabeth," Beckett met his eyes, "We need to know more about the family's background, then we can keep guessing."

"Hey," the door opened and Ryan looked in, "There's someone upstairs, says they have information about Elizabeth James."

"Let's go," Castle and Beckett said at once, taking the stairs to the interrogation rooms, knowing they would beat the elevators.

"Hello," Beckett was the first to reach the interrogation room, and she stepped inside, Castle following her silently. "You're Ricky Anderson?"

"Yeah," Ricky's hands were jammed in his pockets and he was slouched in his chair, "You the detective behind Lizzie's case?" He even sounded exhausted, his monotonous voice matching the bags under his eyes.

"Detective Kate Beckett," she held out her hand, "And yes, I am." She sat, Castle sitting besides her.

"I'm just watching," Castle spotted Ricky's eyes on his movements, "But my name's also Ricky, well, Richard – ignore me and listen to Detective Beckett."

"Cool," Ricky stared at the floor instead, "You gonna ask me questions or just wait for me to talk?" He looked up at Beckett for a second, slouching lower in the seat, "I'm not even supposed to be here, we're supposed to be exploring the city, Mr. Alstard said we can't answer any questions that you guys ask about Lizzie."

"And why doesn't he want you to give any sort of answers about Elizabeth?" Beckett asked, having already begun recording the conversation.

"We wanted us to wait until her parents get here, said they have to testify first." He shrugged, "Don't want us kids messing up the investigation, but I'm no kid, I'm eighteen and have the right to say whatever I want."

"Then tell us why you came here," Castle began, receiving looks from both Beckett and Ricky.

"Lizzie was my girlfriend," Ricky began, "I'm a junior, year older than her, got held back a year because I got mono twice in first grade. We dated almost all of her freshman year then the beginning of this year, then she broke it off, said it wasn't going to work. That her parents didn't want me around, that I was going to lead her to a bad end."

"They were upset that she was dating you?" Beckett asked, curious, "Or was it the age difference – she is about two years younger than you."

"Said I wasn't good enough for her, that I don't have the right mindset to make her happy." Ricky twisted his hands in his lap, "I loved her, and I still do – but I wasn't gonna anger her parents."

"So you two broke up?" Beckett asked, "Or what happened?"

"We did, for about two days," Ricky sat up, "You won't tell her parents anything unless you have to, right?"

"Only if it is important to the investigation." Beckett replied calmly.

"Well, see, Lizzie and I started dating again, she and I snuck out of the school during breaks, then when her parents weren't home. We weren't gonna give each other up," Ricky pulled out his wallet, holding it out to both Beckett and Castle. "See this picture?" He pointed at a locket necklace on a silver chair, "I wanted to get this for her, but it's expensive, Cartier and rare."

"Can I see that?" Castle asked, his eyes glued on the printed photograph, and he held it in his hands, staring at it.

"Can I continue?" Beckett looked at Castle, who nodded. "So, you two dated behind her parents' backs?"

"Yeah, sure, we love each other, and I wasn't gonna let her parents stop us." He leaned back in the chair, "I was gonna ask her to marry me when she turned eighteen, her parents can't..."

"Beckett, did you look at this?" Castle interrupted, "Cartier heart locket, silver chain." He looked up at Ricky, "You got any more info on this thing?"

"Sure," Ricky handed over a print-out, "Quarter centimeter chair, 14-karat silver, engraved interior with her name, 'Dearest Elizabeth, I love you.' I was gonna give it to her when I saved the money."

"No need," Beckett stood, "Castle sit here, you too Ricky – I've got to ask Lanie to get a photo up here."

"You sure do," Castle nodded, staring at the photo of the necklace.

- - -

"So you're saying that Elizabeth got that necklace from someone else?" Ricky stared at the photograph that Lanie had taken of the necklace. "That's impossible, the guy said it wasn't for sale."

"Well this sure looks like the same one," Beckett replied, "It's possible that this guy got the one that Elizabeth has somewhere else, can we take the number of the place where you got it?"

"Of course, this jerk who killed my girlfriend is going to wish he never did this." Ricky stood, stretching, before sitting back down.

"Actually, we're done for now Ricky," Beckett shook his hand, "Thanks for stopping by, and don't worry, none of your chaperones need to know that you visited."

"Thank you," Ricky nearly ran from the precinct, leaving most of the room in a stunned silence.

"That was strange," Castle picked up the printout Ricky had given them, "He never even knew that the necklace had been sold."

"And I found the buyer," Ryan returned, Esposito in tow, both of them looking rather pleased with themselves. "Her father."

"What?" Castle and Beckett both exclaimed, "Who...? Why would a near multi-millionaire be buying the same necklace that a junior in high school would want?"

"Because it says the same thing," Beckett rolled her eyes, as if stating the obvious, "Same message, two meanings – one from a father, one from the love of her life."

"Ah, dreamy," Esposito laughed, "Hoping you'll get something from Castle like that?" He, Ryan and Castle all laughed at that, though Castle's was more of an awkward chuckle while Beckett blushed deeply, avoiding their eyes.

"Aww, shut up," Beckett yawned loudly, "Anyone want to go grab lunch?" She glanced at the clock, suddenly noticing that it was nearly noon and they still hadn't eaten much since arriving at the precinct around midnight.

"Me," Castle piped up right away, ignoring the fact that both Ryan and Esposito remained quiet, even though they were probably just as hungry.

"Then let's go," Beckett grabbed her purse, and without another word, both she and Castle headed from the precinct, off into the city to find lunch.

- - -

Nearly an hour later found two of them walked quietly back through the streets towards the garage where Beckett had parked her car, both of them clutching to-go boxes that were in plastic baggies. Castle was flicking the fake Zippo lighter open and closed on his iPhone App, obviously taking a great interest in the flame. Besides him walked Beckett, holding an umbrella over their heads, and for a change, she didn't chastise him about acting like a child again.

The streets were unusually empty, the light rain seemed to have driven people away from the smaller Upper East Side cafe they had ended up at. Castle had picked it, insisting that Beckett try it, since he usually went with Alexis for Saturday lunch, but since she was sick, he chose her instead. At that, Beckett wasn't sure if she should be flattered that Castle picked her, or slightly hurt that she was Alexis' replacement at the cafe. As they reached the garage, Castle held his box of leftovers, which included a slice of rich chocolate cake for Alexis, tightly; and he tucked his iPhone back into his pocket.

Even though they had to walk up to the third level to get Beckett's car, both of them opted to walk, Beckett hoping to dry out her umbrella and Castle hoping to keep his eyes on Beckett when they were alone. It was as if something had happened between them that angered them too much to speak to one another – but in reality, both of them were just deep in thought.

"Hello?" Castle broke the silence, having needed to answer his phone, "Oh, Alexis, how are you feeling?" Beckett tilted her head slightly towards him, listening in, hoping that Alexis was feeling well enough to allow her dad to stay away from their home and continue working on the case. "That sounds good, just exhausted now?" Castle was smiling, "That's great that you feel better," he flashed a thumbs-up at Beckett, who nodded, "Then I'll see you home later, and don't worry, Beckett and I got you some chocolate cake to munch on."

Beckett muffled a laugh with her hand, knowing full well that she had insisted that rich chocolate cake was not the thing that Alexis should be eating if she was sick.

"All right, bye Alexis, take care," Castle hung up and looked at Beckett, who was a few paces ahead of him. "Alexis is feeling better, she said I can waste more time following you around now!" He caught up with her as she laughed, "I mean … I can help you out more."

"Very funny," Beckett looked at him sideways, a smile forming on her lips, "You seem to do both very well." She stopped at her car, unlocking it, "Are you sure that you don't want to swing by your apartment to check on Alexis, it's no problem time-wise, since we haven't heard anything about the case."

"No, she said she'll be fine," Castle assured Beckett, "Though if she does call, then I might want to head out."

The two of them stood besides each other, leaning against Beckett's car, not even bothering to get in and finish their conversation. Though neither of them said anything, they enjoyed times like these, when they could be around each other without having anyone else say anything about their relationship and end up leaving someone embarrassed. Beckett knew that when she was honest with herself, then she knew there was something more to her and Castle's relationship than the one they shared right now, but what, she wasn't sure of.

"Beckett?" Castle waved a hand in front of her face, "You okay there?"

"Oh, sorry," Beckett blushed, "Thinking."

"Ah, something more important than me to think about right now?"

Beckett didn't answer, and instead, she blushed, cursing herself inwardly for knowing what Castle was trying to do to her and that she was playing right into his trap. She opened her car door, setting the box of left-overs she had on the floor, before turning to Castle.

"Yes?" Castle looked at her, "Something more important than me on your mind?" He smiled, "I saw that blush of yours, there a guy I should know about?"

"No, no guy," Beckett responded quickly, "And even if there was, why would I be telling you?"

"Because," Castle stopped, knowing he didn't have a good answer to her question and instead, he pulled Beckett into his arms, his lips on hers. He held her in his arms, pushing her against the car door, his arms around her.

Stunned, Beckett pulled back, her face a mixture of anger, surprise, and something else Castle couldn't read. She went around the car to the drivers seat and go in, waiting for him to get in the passenger side, remaining silent the whole time. When he got in, Beckett avoided his eyes, knowing Castle was looking at her, and she started the car, driving wordlessly out of the garage and back towards Castle's apartment.

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**AN: Oo...awkward car rides are not fun.**

**KM ****x**


	4. Chapter Three

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Hey, good news (somewhat) to Castle fans, my House mojo is fading because of the way the show is being written now, which means my main story will currently be this one. So expect updates!**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Three _

The car ride home was dead silent, Beckett's hands gripping the wheel tightly, and she willed herself to not look at Castle. He, though, kept his eyes on her, looking for a weakness, something that told him that he could talk to her. They were headed back towards his apartment, Castle noted, and he decide to break the silence before they arrived.

"Beckett?" He began.

No response.

"Look, Beckett, can you not ignore me right now?" Castle tried again, "Not in the middle of the case."

Still no response.

"Kate," he tried her first name, "I'm sorry."

She looked at him briefly, not saying anything.

"Kate, I'm sorry," he reached over, taking her hand, which was pulled out of his grasp almost immediately, "Can you forgive me?"

"You kissed me." Beckett's voice was barely above a whisper, "Why the hell did you think you could do that?"

"I … I don't know why I did it, but I did." Castle began, "Look, I know I shouldn't have kissed you but I did, what's done is done." He sighed, turning his attention to his apartment building as they pulled up outside of it, "Beckett … Kate, don't do this, you know I'm sorry."

"I know you're saying it, but my gut tells me that you aren't." Beckett shut off the engine, "I'll let you know when I want you back on the case."

"Bye Kate," Castle stepped out of the car, leaving his left-overs and slice of cake for Alexis behind, dragging his feet slowly inside and up to his apartment.

"Dad," Alexis sat up on the couch as her father shut the apartment door, "I told you not to come home." She watched him as he made a beeline for his office, "What's going on?"

"Can't really stay on a case if you get kicked off of it, right?" Castle looked at his daughter, his eyes showing obvious defeat and loss.

"What?" The misery that Alexis had over being sick vanished at that and she followed her dad into his office, "What did you do?"

"Nothing," he lied, pulling out his laptop, "I just got kicked off the case."

"No you didn't," Alexis knew her father well enough to know when he has lying, "What happened? Was it something between you and Beckett?"

Castle's stomach twisted at the mention of Beckett and he swallowed, "Yes."

"What happened?" Alexis leaned on the front of the desk, looking at her father, "I thought all the drama between you and Beckett had ended after you agreed not to bring up her mother's case again. Oh, God, you didn't bring it up again did you?"

"No, that case was pretty much closed," Castle set a pile of manuscripts on his desk, mostly drafts of a second Nikki Heat novel.

"Then _what _could you have possibly done to piss Beckett off again?" Alexis asked, "She can tolerate you better than any other person who isn't related to you by blood."

"I kissed her." Castle replied quietly, as if he was embarrassed by the fact. "She got upset, drove me here and dropped me off without saying anything more than the fact that I shouldn't have done it and that I was off the case."

"Wow." Alexis didn't know exactly how to respond, "I thought that you and her were actually interested in each other, you'd think she'd be glad about that."

"Beckett isn't like that," Castle stood, bringing the manuscripts into the living room, "She never was." He dropped the manuscripts on the coffee table, staring at them before going back to his office, Alexis following him silently.

"What was that? Why'd you take all the manuscripts out of your office, are they all the Nikki Heat manuscripts?" Alexis bombarded her father with questions, "You better not give up on the series just because Beckett is mad at you, the books are amazing. _Heat Wave _did better than any of your other books, you can't just stop writing the series because of that."

"Sure I can," Castle looked over his shoulder, "Beckett was the whole reason I wrote the series, now that she's mad at me, there's no point." He sat back down at his desk, "Any ideas?"

"Really?" Alexis sat on the arm of her father's chair, "Does it have to be a murder mystery?"

"Anything, just need to write something to get my mind off Beckett." Castle replied, opening a blank Microsoft Word document on his computer.

"So," Alexis grinned, "Two people, seemingly complete opposite from a first glance, are really more alike than they sound. One's a school teacher, young and dedicated to her job while the other is a carefree businessman, looking for the next adventure kind of guy. One day, they run into each other, totally unexpected, since they happen to share a mutual friend. They hit it off right away – sure there's bantering and upsets for both sides – but they're great friends."

"Interesting." Castle wasn't typing, just sitting listening to Alexis talk.

"One day, the guy makes a mistake and the girl storms off, saying that she never wants to see him again, that he's ruined her life and should stay out of the rest of it. But inside, she's just scared, because what he did was something that she couldn't do, and to have him do it for her meant more than anything." Alexis was grinning and Castle couldn't quite place the reason for her smile, so she kept going. "After a while, they see each other again, and agree that they overreacted, and become friends again. Little do they know that they're falling in love with each other, but neither of them wants to say anything to the other in fears of ruining the friendship."

"Are you comparing this to a story about me and Beckett?" Castle cut her off, "Because I think you are."

"Fine," Alexis laughed, "Maybe I am, but you two care about each other – hey, maybe you two are even in love with each other. I don't know."

"Alexis!" Castle stood, beating her over the head with a pillow, ensuring a chase around the living room, before they stopped in the kitchen.

"Where'd my phone go?" Castle reached of his pocket, seeing his phone gone.

"There," Alexis pointed to where it had fallen on the couch and Castle went over to it, seeing that he had a new voice mail.

Dialing, Castle held the phone to his ear, hushing Alexis by getting out the ice cream and chocolate syrup. He froze, his hand halfway to the bowls, when Beckett's voice came over the speaker, and he headed into his office, shutting the door behind him.

"Hi Castle, it's Beckett." She sounded upset, and Castle pressed the phone to his ear, as if he could make her appear in front of him the harder he listened. "I know earlier was an accident, I just didn't really know how to react. We've know each other for almost two years now, so I really should know what to say, but I didn't." Castle locked the door, hearing Alexis' footsteps on the other side, "I know I overreacted, dropping you off was rude, but I just don't know if I can be around you right now."

"Why, why not?" Castle hissed at the phone, his heart wrenching at Beckett's message.

"You're such a great friend to me Rick, and that's something I don't want to lose." It almost sounded like Beckett had been crying, but even Castle couldn't tell. "I just … that kiss was something, and whatever it meant to me, it scared me. Anyways, I should probably go now, I'll … I'll try calling you later. Bye."

Castle stared at the wall in front of him in silence, thinking. So the kiss had meant something to Beckett, and to him, that was obvious. But what it meant to Beckett, how that would affect him, worried Castle. He opened the door, seeing Alexis sitting in front of him, quietly eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream drenched in hot fudge syrup. Side-stepping her, he went to get his own bowl, before sitting at the island table.

"Was that Beckett?" Alexis smiled, already knowing that the answer was yes, "What did she say?"

"Huh?" Castle looked up from his ice cream, "What did who say?"

"Beckett." Alexis sat cross-legged on the couch, "She called, I know she did because of the way you locked yourself in your office like that. You never do that, even when it's urgent, what did Beckett say?"

"That was two points in that last sentence, and I'm not telling you." Castle licked the spoon clean of ice cream, closing his eyes, imagining his lips on Beckett's soft skin and his arms around her. He leaned against the couch, imaging her curled besides him, her head nuzzled under his chin while her hand traced patterns on his chest. Then them kissing, pulling each other closer, him carrying her to his bedroom, kissing her bare skin, making love to her.

"Dad?" Alexis looked at Castle, her head cocked to one side, "Are you all right?"

"Yes...I'm fine," Castle shook his head, clearing his thoughts and dragging himself from his fantasies of him and Beckett. He stood, heading towards the kitchen, Alexis following him before she changed her mind, heading upstairs to her room.

"Coming!" Castle called, hearing the doorbell ring seconds after Alexis had disappeared from his sight. He headed to the door, surprised to find Beckett standing there, looking at her feet.

"Beckett?" He looked at her, "Come on in, Alexis is upstairs so you won't be bothering her."

"No, I just … well, okay." She stepped inside, letting Castle shut the door behind her, "Sorry."

"It's … erm, okay." Castle admitted, "I'm sorry too."

"For what?" Beckett looked at him, spotting the Nikki Heat manuscripts on the table, "You have emotions, just like everyone else."

"But I acted on them," Castle poured Beckett a mug of coffee and pushed it into her hands, "I didn't have to."

"But you did," Beckett drank the coffee quickly, the liquid burning her throat, trying to drown the butterflies in her stomach. "That can't be changed, no matter what you say or do." She handed the already empty mug back to Castle, making her way towards the table. "You working on the second book?"

"Maybe," Castle sat besides her on the couch, "Not really sure where to go in it."

"You stumped?" Beckett picked up one that looked the most recent, judging by the date on the top corner, "Maybe I can help."

"You can always help," Castle scooted a bit closer to her, looking at the manuscript over her shoulder, "After all, you _are _the inspiration for Nikki." He smiled at the blush that graced Beckett's cheeks, and he lifted the manuscript from her hands, setting it on the table again.

"What?" Beckett asked, looking at Castle, partly confused.

"Hush," Castle put a finger to her lips, "I'm trying to figure out how a scene will go." He removed his finger, moving closer to Beckett, replacing his finger with his lips. He brushed her lips gently, before pulling back, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling Beckett to him.

This time, Beckett didn't push him away, she wrapped her arms around Castle's neck, looking curiously at him as their eyes met. "That help a bit?" She smiled at him, not surprised to see Castle grin at her words.

"Of course," he laughed, "You're a helpful person." He leaned forwards, picking up the manuscript again. "Any ideas?"

"No, I don't even know what's happening." Beckett laughed, inching herself away from Castle, looking at the manuscript as well.

"One second," Castle hopped up, "I should grab my laptop, so I can jot ideas down on there." He went into his office to go find it, leaving Beckett on the couch. When he was gone, Beckett brought a finger to her lips, running it along them, blushing faintly from when Castle had kissed her a few seconds ago.

"I'm back," Castle sat besides her, setting his laptop on the coffee table, desktop showing.

"Nice quote," Beckett smiled, reading the quote he had as his background.

"Yup," Castle turned the screen towards her, "'To hope for love is only the beginning, a love full of hope is much more.' It's actually from Alexis, it was for a project she had to do for an essay writing class on the things every person should be able to have in their lives."

"That's sweet," Beckett briefly met Castle's eyes, before reaching for her phone as it rang. "Beckett," she opened it, leaning back into the couch. "Oh, thanks Ryan, we'll be there."

"We?" Castle asked once Beckett had hung up, "I'm back on the case?"

"Sure," Beckett headed for the door as Castle powered off his laptop, "The girl's parents are in, time to go interrogate them."

* * *

**AN: Yeah, that was a lot of drama in one chapter, but I wasn't really sure how to write no Castle and Beckett interactions, besides I thought this way was interestingly done.**

**KM x**


	5. Chapter Four

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Sitting in a car at a NYS rest stop and had to post this, I love WiFi. Will start chapter five soon.**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Four _

Castle and Beckett took the stairs quickly and silently, knowing that it would be faster than the elevator down from his apartment. They didn't say anything about the second kiss they had shared, knowing that it had been mutual, but neither of them knew what to say. Getting into the car, Beckett started the engine, nearly leaving Castle behind in her excitement to get to the station. He climbed in and shut the door, expecting the ride to be crazy.

"Beckett?" Castle asked as they crossed Broadway, which in all honesty, he thought was impossibly hard to do in the middle of the day. Apparently driving a the police car helped.

"Hm?" Beckett glanced at him, "Sorry, I'm just eager to find out about Elizabeth's necklace."

"Me too," Castle reached over, squeezing her hand awkwardly, "Just don't kill us, I want to get there in one piece so we can close this case."

"Fine," Beckett laughed, a shiver running up her arm as Castle kept his hand in hers. "I'll be careful," she pulled her hand out of his, returning it to the wheel. "Sorry, better to drive safely."

"Of course," Castle nodded, "The death of a detective while she's on duty isn't the best thing."

"Very funny Castle," Beckett pulled over outside the precinct, shutting off the engine and hopping from the car.

"Coming," Castle stepped out of the car, following Beckett into the precinct, feeling slightly more curious than usual as they reached the landing where Ryan, Esposito – and to their surprise, Lanie, were waiting.

"There's our lovebirds," Lanie called, teasing both Castle and Beckett as they stopped besides them, looking interested.

"Stop it," Beckett snapped, blushing slightly, "Where are Elizabeth's parents?"

"Her dad's waiting outside, her mother opted to be interrogated first." Ryan nodded to the hallway that lead towards the interrogation rooms, "Strange huh?"

"I guess," Castle followed Beckett as she took the stairs up to the interrogation rooms, "And Beckett and I are _not _lovebirds." He called over his shoulder, leaving Ryan, Esposito and Lanie to exchange amused grins.

"Afternoon," Beckett sat down at the table across from Mrs. James, "Detective Kate Beckett and this," she nodded her head towards Castle, "is Richard Castle."

"The author?" Marie's head turned to Castle, her eyes filled with admiration and interest.

"Yes, actually," Castle shut the door and crossed the room, sitting besides Beckett, "I'm observing Detective Beckett on her cases for my writing."

"Would you shut up?" Beckett nudged Castle in the ribs, "Your detective side needs to show now, not your author-encountering-a-fan side." She turned to Marie, "Was there anyone you knew that could possibly want to physically harm Elizabeth? Someone from her school trip?"

"Her ex-boyfriend." Marie's response was automatic, "He never wanted to give her up and she didn't want to give him up."

"Rick?" Beckett asked, "He actually came in to speak with us, told us about his relationship with Elizabeth before they broke up. Said that he still cares about her but because you and your husband didn't approve of the relationship, he would respect that."

"Adam and I didn't not approve of it, we just thought that they needed to be with someone different. We weren't comfortable with the age difference." Marie replied, "See, our Lizzie was fifteen when he was seventeen – it wasn't right for her to be with him."

"So you're saying you didn't approve of the age difference?" Castle interrupted, "That seems like you two didn't approve of the relationship, or at least a part of it."

"That's what I meant," Marie blinked at Castle gratefully, "Adam and I didn't approve of that part of their relationship, he was good to her though."

"Do you know of anyone else that could be jealous of Elizabeth that went on the class trip?" Beckett asked, "Include anyone."

"I would assume lots of people on here," Marie looked at the list of students and chaperones that were on the trip that Beckett had handed over. "You know how well off our family is right?"

"Of course," Beckett nodded, "Your husband mentioned it earlier when we were on the phone with both of you."

"Then you can understand why Elizabeth would seem to have a lot of enemies in school," Marie glanced at her hands, which were folded in her lap, "Not many kids want to be friends with a richest girl in the school, unless she gives them something in return."

"What do you mean, 'give them something in return'?" Beckett asked, "Like money?"

"Various things," Marie sighed, "Money, expensive gifts … that sort of thing."

"Things their parents wouldn't be able to afford but you and Adam could?" Beckett asked, "So you mean that her friends would try and take advantage of your family's wealth?"

"Exactly." Marie nodded, "They wanted to use Elizabeth to get things that they couldn't have gotten from their own parents. She refused friendship to so many people because of that, not many people accepted her as a friend without that additional expectation."

"I see," Beckett stood, "Thanks for your time Mrs. James, we'll let you know if we need to speak with you about anything else regarding Elizabeth's case." Castle stood as well, shaking Marie James' hand before heading to the door, letting her leave first.

"That's interesting," Beckett looked at the table, "Seemed as if there's a lot of people that would hate Elizabeth because of her wealth If she doesn't share it."

"But was it a friend?" Castle asked, "Or could it have been someone she didn't know. Or family?"

"Family?' Beckett hissed as they walked from the room, heads bent close together, "You think it was her mother or father?"

"Could be," Castle shrugged, "Where did she get the necklace from then?"

"No clue," Beckett stopped walking, looking around for Adam James, "I would say that we could ask her father but where is he?"

"Bathroom," Ryan looked up from where he was seated, twirling a pen between his fingers, "Esposito is trailing him."

Castle muffled a laugh and sat besides Ryan, helping himself to the large bowl of popcorn, "Were you two imagining that you were sitting at home watching a movie?"

"Yes, the best one," Lanie came up behind them, "Need something Beckett?" She handed Beckett a bag which contained the necklace, "Noticed that you interviewed the mom first, figured that the dad would be more important when asking about the necklace." Looking between her friend and Castle, she smirked, "Right _lovebirds_?"

"Lanie!" Beckett cried, her face turning bright red, "Castle and I aren't lovebirds."

"You sure about that Beckett dearest?" Castle teased, "Your face is awfully red."

"Castle, don't make me hurt you," Beckett looked at him, before spotting Esposito returning with Adam, "Later." She approached Adam, looking him up and down.

"You're the detective who called us, right?" Adam copied Beckett's actions, "You want to interrogate me about my daughter?"

"Yes," Beckett nodded, "Let's go." She waved her hand, heading towards the interrogation rooms, Castle falling into step behind her. Adam went into the room first, making a beeline straight for the chair, and he sat in it, looking up at Beckett and Castle as they entered the room.

"Where were you Friday night before you returned home from work?" Beckett asked, "We know you weren't at home because when we called your wife around five Saturday morning, she said you were just returning home from work."

"I'm a night watchman at one of the city schools," Adam replied.

"Surely someone like you could find a better job than a night watchman?" Beckett pulled out a financial statement, "Your family is very well off and it looks like you have been for a few generations."

"How did you get that?" Adam asked, "Those are our personal statements."

"The police have access to any sort of statements needed to conduct an investigation," Beckett replied calmly, "Here it says that the only major job incomes being made is your wife's job as a secretary for your city's mayor and your job as the head of the school board."

"I offered to take on the watchman job for free," Adam responded automatically, his eyes darting towards Castle, "Who's he?"

"Richard Castle," Beckett glanced at Castle, "the author, he's observing."

"Oh." Adam nodded, his walls coming down.

"Are you sure that you were working?" Beckett asked, "There were numerous phone calls made from a cellphone registered under your name to another cellphone that was activated in a store in New York City about two weeks ago. I was under the impression that the schools require cellular devices to be off while on the job."

"At night?" Adam asked, "Not then."

"Then who were you calling locally?" Beckett asked, "A Mr. Thomas Reynolds perhaps?" She set a photograph of a middle-aged man with scraggly brown hair.

"No, I was speaking with my grandfather," Adam replied, "Reynolds is his caretaker, or at least he was, up until two months ago."

"What happened?" Beckett asked, leaning forwards, "Between you and Mr. Reynolds, I mean."

"He left the state," Adam's eyes narrowed at the memory, "Never told anyone, just left. And you see, my grandfather is obviously very elderly, and is on daily medications. Reynolds would give them to him, but since he wasn't aware that Reynolds was gone, there was no way he could contact us. Reynolds turned up a week later in California and the police called us saying that he was being held for possession of illegal drugs."

"Okay," Beckett nodded, changing topics. "Have you ever seen this necklace before?" She set Elizabeth's locket on the table, pushing it wards Adam.

"Of course, it was Elizabeth's, I got it for her about two weeks ago." Adam smiled, "It's rare, a discontinued Cartier necklace." He pointed at the gemstones on the front of the locket, "Those are real diamonds, you know."

"I know," Beckett nodded, "Our medical examiner noticed at it seemed the necklace had been pulled forcibly around Elizabeth's neck sometime around her death."

"By who?" Adam asked, "Why would anyone choose to do that?"

"You knew Elizabeth better than Castle or I, you tell us who else thought that Elizabeth was very special to them." Beckett leaned back, knowing that Ricky would have to come up again the conversation.

"Ricky Andersen, her old boyfriend." Adam replied, "He actually had a photograph of this necklace, along with a printout that had all the information on it."

"So you knew that Ricky had this information and knowledge about such a rare piece of Cartier jewelery?" Beckett asked, "And if you know that he had it, then how did you end up with the necklace that he had found out about?"

"He couldn't afford something like that," Adam didn't bother to hide his amusement, "And he's seventeen, he has no need to go buying something like that for a girl that he's only been dating for a few months."

"So you bought it for your daughter instead?" Beckett asked, "Hoping that she'd forgive you about her breakup with Ricky?"

"How'd you know about their breakup?" Adam asked, "Was that kid in here?"

"No," Beckett replied, knowing she was lying; then again, all evidence was kept confidential unless it was important. "But that's all we need to know for now," she stood, "Thank you for your time."

"Don't leave town?" Castle asked, standing as well, "We might want to call you back in for more questions if more evidence comes up."

"Of course," Adam left the room, both him and his wife heading out of the precinct almost right away.

"He's lying," Ryan stepped into the interrogation room, "There is no night watchman at any of the city schools."

"Nor are any of his parents or grandparents alive, on either side." Esposito added, "Thomas Reynolds was arrested though, he got that bit right, but it wasn't in California. It was up on the east side on Saturday morning."

"Then where was he Friday night, and why was he communicating with a Thomas Reynolds?" Castle looked at Beckett, who looked at the necklace on the table.

"No idea," Beckett looked up, hearing a phone ring and she strode towards her desk, knowing it was hers.

"Beckett," she picked up, "Oh, hello Mr. Alstard." She waved Castle, Ryan and Esposito over towards her, "Really?" Frowning, she scribbled down an address that Mr. Alstard had given her, "We'll be over soon." Hanging up, she turned to them, "They found a bullet under a pillow in the room Elizabeth was staying in, no one has been in there since the afternoon before her death."

* * *

**AN: Comments? **

**x**


	6. Chapter Five

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Keep changing the spellings of Ricky's last name (the boyfriend) – it's Andersen, not Anderson.**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Five _

Castle, Ryan, Esposito and Beckett all piled into one of the precinct's vans and pulled away from the station within five minutes of getting the call. Ryan and Esposito sat in the back and Castle in the passenger seat, while Beckett drove. They headed straight for the Lincoln Tunnel, having gotten the address of the hotel as a small one just across the New York-New Jersey border. The police radio crackled every now and then, mostly reporting on traffic and arrests across the city, and they ignored the calls, too focused on their drive to the Comfort Inn.

As Beckett steered the van out of the Lincoln Tunnel, she felt Castle reach over, taking her hand gently, rubbing his thumb against her palm. Glancing at him, she sighed, seeing him staring out the window, looking deep in thought.

"So you two _are _lovebirds," Ryan broke the silence, spotting Beckett's hand in Castle's, "Liars."

"What?" Esposito looked up, whipping out his cellphone and snapping a photograph of Beckett and Castle's clasped hands, seconds before they pulled their hands back into their laps.

"If you just sent that to Lanie I will kill you," Beckett looked back at Esposito, knowing he had done exactly that.

"Isn't illegal to make threats on one another?" Castle asked teasingly, lacing Beckett's fingers with his again, "Besides, Lanie won't do much harm knowing."

"_Much harm_?" Beckett looked over at as Castle smiled, "Richard Castle, do you even know a thing about Lanie?"

"Of course I do," Castle looked back at her, "Oh, right here!" He pointed at a turn-off where two Coach buses were parked alongside a hotel, and Beckett swerved into the parking lot.

"God woman, you drive like a maniac." Esposito grinned at Lanie's reaction to Castle and Beckett holding hands, "Oh, and Lanie freaked out. Her reply text consisted of nothing more than random letters typed out with an 'OMG? R u srus?' after that."

"Goodness, you'd think she'd text me first," Beckett laughed, shutting off the engine and hopping out of the van; Ryan, Esposito and Castle all following suit.

"Detective," Mr. Alstard made a beeline towards them as they entered the hotel's lobby, "Come with me, all of you, I'll show you where Elizabeth's room is and introduce you to her roommates."

"Let's go," Beckett waved the three men along, blushing as Castle slipped up besides her, his hand on her back.

"Hey Beckett," he hissed in her ear, "How are they going to react when they find out that we aren't officially together?"

"No idea," Beckett hissed back as they followed Mr. Alstard onto the elevator, "I'm actually surprised that Lanie hasn't texted me to find out if Esposito was joking or not."

"Well he wasn't," Castle glanced up at the red letters that counted up on the elevator's wall, "we were holding hands."

"I meant about the relationship part," Beckett opened her file folder, removing the list of students on the class trip, before she turned to Mr. Alstard. "Do you think you could mark which people on the trip Elizabeth was spending time with the most?"

"Of course," Mr. Alstard stepped off the elevator as it reached the sixth floor, and was immediately bombarded by students. He silenced them with a raising of his hand and he cleared his voice, "Students, I'd like to introduce you all to Detectives Beckett, Ryan and Esposito, along with Richard Castle – the four of them will be continuing to investigate the reason behind Elizabeth's death, please treat them as you would any of your chaperones."

Castle nodded as a few students, mostly female, tried to get his attention, and quickly, he stepped up besides Beckett, his hand on her back again. "Pretend we're dating," he hissed in her ear as they followed Mr. Alstard along the hallway, the students following them.

Beckett cocked her head at him but nodded as Mr. Alstard stopped, searching the crowd of students for three other faces. As he spotted them, he waved them out of the crowd, calling up Ricky as well.

"Her three roommates; Alexei Summers, Maria Gordon and Amanda Morrison," Mr. Alstard glanced at Ricky, "and Ricky Andersen, her boyfriend." Castle gave Ricky a nod so faint that you'd have to focus on their heads in order to notice it, and he shook the hands of the three roommates, who promptly squealed.

"Stop it Castle," Beckett hissed in his ear, "You're shadowing us, not playing famous author now."

"I know, I can't control their reactions," he hissed back. "You three mind showing us the room and where you found the bullet?"

"Of course not," Alexei grinned, her wavy red hair pulled back into a loose bun, "In here." She lead the way into the room, and Castle exchanged a meaningful glance with Beckett, knowing how much Alexei was reminding them both of Alexis.

They stepped into the room, surprised of how neat it was. Four suitcases sat at the foot of the two king-sized beds, and numerous phone chargers, iPod chargers and camera chargers scattered the desk. A small pile of DVDs sat on top of the TV counter, most of them chick-flicks, along with a romantic comedy. Ryan headed towards the window, seeing that the one window was propped open and the blinds were tired up to one side. He knelt down, spotting scuff marks on the heater, and he waved over both Beckett and Esposito.

Castle, on the other hand, was kneeling besides Elizabeth's suitcase, digging through it and spreading it across the bed that she and Alexei were sharing. He put clothes into one pile, hygiene products into another, snacks in third and school work into a forth. After going through the main compartment, he opened the front pocket, surprised to see a small bottle of pills and a crumpled note fall out. Picking them up, he waved the roommates and Beckett over, "Did you three girls ever see Elizabeth with this?" He showed them the pill bottle, holding it up into the light so they could clearly see it.

"No," Alexei, Maria and Amanda all shook their heads and Beckett took it from them, reading the label.

"Sleeping pills," she announced, turning to Mr. Alstard, "Did you have any record of Elizabeth bringing sleeping pills on the trip?"

"No," Mr. Alstard shook his head, looking at the pill bottle, "She would have checked them will me before leaving school so I would have a record of what students were carrying certain medications. It was a mandatory requirement."

"Looks like she's a fan," Esposito held up a copy of _Storm Fall_, causing Castle to nod, "Too bad you're only meeting her while she's dead."

"It's autographed," Ryan cracked open the book, flipping through it, "so you met her but now you don't know who she is."

"I autograph tons of books," Castle took it from Esposito, before frowning at the signature, "That's not mine, too loopy."

"Really?" Beckett looked over his shoulder and nodded, "Agreed, you don't make it take up so much space on the page."

"So who...?" Castle set the book down, "And why, if her family's so rich, forge my signature when they could easily get it?"

"Someone who wanted to make her happy, but it was all an act." Ricky called from the doorway, stepping into the room, "Her dad gave that to her for her fifteenth birthday, she was thrilled to see that you had supposedly signed it."

"Really?" Castle looked up in interest, "Does she have any more of my books?"

"Castle!" Beckett hissed, hitting him on the arm.

"Every single one," Ricky nodded, "She pre-ordered _Heat Wave _the moment it was announced."

"Me too," Amanda nodded, "Actually, most of the girls in our school are fans of you Mr. Castle," she smiled.

"This is all very interesting, but where did you find the bullet?" Beckett stood, looking around the room.

"Calm down Beckett, getting a back-story is good." Castle had to smile a bit and he leaned towards her, "So, she apparently enjoyed _Heat Wave_, what do you think about that?" Beckett ignored his mention of his latest bestsellerand returned to scanning the hotel room and window.

"Right here," Alexei picked up the pillows on the bed she and Elizabeth had been sharing, "Oddly enough, it was under my pillow instead of hers."

"Your pillow?" Beckett asked, "That's interesting."

"It sure is," Castle smirked at her, "Almost as if the person who placed it there was trying to send a message to both Elizabeth and Alexei."

"Why would they do that?" Maria looked at Castle in confusion.

"She's a fan of me, right?" Castle asked, and after he received nods in the response, he went on. "I've got a daughter named Alexis, see where I'm going with this? Alexei, Alexis? See how similar the names are?"

"Meaning?" Ryan looked up from where he was kneeling besides the scuff marks again, "That could be a coincidence."

"Or whoever placed this bullet knew that Alexei was sleeping here, and instead of sending them a freaky message to Elizabeth, they sent one to the girl who just so happens to have a name like the daughter of her favorite author." Castle picked up the bullet, dropping it into a plastic baggie which Beckett held open.

"And whoever put this bullet here came in through the window," Esposito leaned out of the opened window, "If you take out the screen, you can easily make a jump from the roof, right there," he pointed to a lower roof about half a foot from the window, "to here."

"Then there's a ladder going down to the ground floor," Ryan added, looking out he window, "The placer comes in, lays the bullet then sneaks out down the window."

"Or the other way around," Beckett went to the window, "There's no way that the screen could have gotten back into the window from the outside. He probably climbed into the room, laid the bullet, replaced the screen and went out the door." She looked into the hall, spotting two video cameras trained on the hallway. "Now to get those tapes."

- - -

"Are you saying that the tapes from earlier today are missing?" Beckett leaned on the main desk, "Where would they have gone?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, the room is under video surveillance from behind this desk at all times though, it is possible that something could be on here." The receptionist obviously looked confused.

"Could my department taken them to examine them?" Beckett asked, waving Ryan and Esposito over, seeing that Castle was a bit preoccupied with a little book signing and photo-shoot of his own across the lobby.

"Your department?" The receptionist echoed, "Of what?"

"NYPD," Beckett showed them her badge, "Didn't I make myself clear earlier?"

"Yes, you did, I'm sorry," the receptionist lead Beckett behind the counter, taking her back to the office where the tapes were kept. She handed over one from a special cassette dock and slapped a label on it, writing "Saturday; 12:00 AM to 2:00 PM" on it, along with the hotel's name.

"Thank you," Beckett pocketed the cassette, following the receptionist out into the lobby, where she stepped up besides Castle, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Yes Beckett?" He looked at her, "Oh, we're ready?" He handed the signed book to a student and stood, following her, Ryan and Esposito out to the precinct's van.

"Are you two really together?" Ryan asked as Beckett was pulling away from the hotel.

"No." Beckett and Castle responded at the same time, then they looked at each other, blushing.

"Really?"

"We aren't," Castle insisted, "We're just great friends."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Esposito had to roll his eyes and they leaned back in the car, riding in silence the rest of the way to the precinct.

* * *

**AN: Also, to make it clear, Castle and Beckett are really _not _together, I'm not sure when they actually will be together.**

**xx**


	7. Chapter Six

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Sorry for the week wait, I had/have an ant infestation in my bedroom and am leaving on the 17th for a weeklong trip in Europe (so I won't be updating between the 17th and the 24th). Enjoy!**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Six _

Ryan leaned towards the monitor of the computer, pausing the video, and he jabbed a finger at the screen. He minimized the video's screen and glanced at a screen cap that they had taken a few minutes earlier.

"Look at the lighting," Beckett had figured out what Ryan had noticed, "The hall that leads from the receptionist's desk is much darker in this still." She glanced at the timestamp, "Ten minute difference, it couldn't have taken ten minutes to edit something that was nearly fourteen hours long."

"Unless they knew what they were dong," Castle put in, "Skilled videographers know how to merge two different tapes."

"Where'd you get that idea?" Esposito looked up at them, "It would take a hell of a lot of work just to cover up who has been in that room for about ten minutes."

"Unless it was our killer," Castle glanced at Esposito, stating the obvious, "Or someone who knew the killer, but not the fact that the killer was trying to hide evidence about a murder."

"Huh?" Ryan and Esposito were obviously confused.

"Do you two even read?" Beckett asked.

"You've already asked us Beckett, we read." Esposito elbowed Ryan.

"_Last Act_ by Christopher Pike," Beckett began, "One of the killer's friends was asked to record a video that ended up taping the murder of one of their friends. They taped two shows but made it one tape, all the stuff from a rehearsal was shown after the death, instead of the actual show."

"I guess it's possible," Ryan leaned back in his seat, rubbing his stomach. "I could go for some dinner about now."

"Oh, goodness, dinner!" Castle glanced at the clock, "It's nearly five, I've got to head out, I've got reservations on the East Side with Alexis for dinner." He grabbed his jacket, nearly racing from the room, having ignored the waiting elevator and took the stairs instead.

"I should go too," Beckett packed up her stuff, putting it into her bag, "I've got plans tonight as well."

"With Castle?" Esposito winked at her, "Don't worry, we'll be fine on our own."

"I am not dating Castle!" Beckett snapped, able to keep a straight face, "I'm just busy." She headed out, ironically taking the same route as Castle.

"Boo!" Castle popped out from around the stairwell, "Miss me?"

"Very funny!" Beckett leaned against the wall, obviously spooked, "Let's go, I'll drop you off at your apartment on the way home."

"Thanks," Castle followed Beckett out of the precinct, both of the unaware that Ryan and Esposito were watching them leave.

- - -

"Thanks for the ride," Castle hopped out of the passenger side door, "You'll meet us at the restaurant around six thirty, right?"

"Of course," Beckett rolled her eyes, "I'm not fashionably late like other people I know."

"Very funny." Castle had to laugh, "See you in about an hour."

"See you Castle," Beckett pulled away, leaving Castle to stare after her before heading up to his own apartment.

- - -

"So, is this a date or something?" Alexis looked at her father, "Because if it is then why am I here?"

"It's not a date," Castle replied, "Beckett and I can go out for dinner without making it 'a date'. Besides, you and her enjoy spending time in each others company right?" He parked in the garage besides the restaurant, shutting off the engine.

"Well, yeah," Alexis hopped from the car, slightly regretting it as her heeled shoes hit the pavement. "But it seems like a date – fancy restaurant, fancy clothes and you two obviously planned this before I knew about it."

"It is not a date," Castle and Alexis reached the restaurant and he held open the door for her, slipping inside and hoping to remain unnoticed until Beckett arrived.

"I'll go check us in," Alexis stepped up to the counter, seeing her dad peer over people's heads, scanning the building for Beckett.

"Looking for someone?" Beckett slipped up besides Castle, watching him with an amused grin on her lips.

"Evening Kate," Castle looked her up and down, "You look beautiful tonight."

Beckett blushed, the red in her cheeks clashing with the deep blue of her dress, "Thanks, you don't look too bad your self."

"Hey Beckett!" Alexis spotted her and waved them over, "We're going."

Castle touched Beckett's shoulder, the two of them following Alexis and the waitress towards a small, secluded table in the back. A few stares were tossed their way, obviously by people who recognized Castle, and their eyes darted between him and Beckett, noticing their closeness.

"People are staring," Beckett hissed in Castle's ear as he pulled out a chair for her, "_At us_."

"You're my friend Kate," Castle took a seat across from her, Alexis taking the seat between them, "Friends are allowed to go out together for dinner." He passed her a menu as the waitress handed him them, "Besides, it would be more suspicious if it was just the two of us."

"So you're saying that I'm your cover for being able to go out to dinner together as friends?" Alexis laughed, taking a sip of her water, "I feel very loved dad." She looked at Beckett, who was trying to hold in her laughter, "Maybe I should have told Paige that I wasn't busy tonight and we could have gone to see _Shutter Island _instead."

"As much as we both want to see that, I promised Kate that the three of us would do dinner this week," Castle glanced up, "Unless you'd want to go see it with the three of us after, we could swing by Paige's house and pick her up."

"Or, I could ask Paige to pick me up now, I'd go home and change, then you two enjoy your dinner while Paige and I go see the movie." Alexis teased, "Right?"

"Not right," Castle had to finally laugh, "You are going to enjoy dinner with us then maybe we'll see about you and Paige going to a late night showing of the movie."

"Really?" Alexis asked, "You don't mind staying up late then Beckett?"

"Oh, well, Kate and I don't have to go," Castle glanced as Beckett, not able to read her expression, "Just you and Paige can go."

"So you can drive Beckett crazy?" Alexis asked, making Beckett blush, "I'd rather stay home then."

"I think that I'll be able to put up with your father," Beckett smiled, "After all, I deal with him following me around everyday. And, I'm a detective, I put up with a lot."

"Not to mention that you're a sexy one," Castle teased, making Beckett blush even more.

"Very cute Rick," Beckett kicked him under the table, "I'd watch what you're saying around here, after all, may I remind you, _this is not a date_."

"I know, I know," Castle folded his legs under his chair to prevent Beckett's heels from attacking them again, "It's not fun if I don't torment you."

"'Torment'?" Alexis repeated, "You two are practically flirting with each other. No wonder everyone thinks you're together." She opened her menu, hiding behind it before either Castle or Beckett could respond.

"What are you going to get?" Castle leaned back in his chair, "I'm getting my favorite."

"You didn't even look at the menu!" Beckett said, surprised.

"I've been here before," Castle twirled his menu between two fingers, "Beef steak, medium-rare, topped with sauce and pasta."

"That does look good," Beckett had found the steak on the menu, "But it's expensive, really? You're going to pay nearly thirty bucks on a steak?"

"Welcome to the good life Katherine Beckett," Castle took a sip of his water glass, "Feel free to order anything you want."

"Really Richard Castle?" Beckett leaned forwards, hands on the table, "You invited me here tonight so you could suck up to me and get me to let you have full run on this case." She closed her menu, "And for that, I'm getting the Chicken Parmesan so you can whine about me saving money."

"Don't worry," Alexis laughed, "I always get their Chicken Parm, it's amazing."

"Oh, then stop bugging me about it Rick," Beckett pretended to glare at Castle, but to all three of them, it seemed a lot more like a flirty smirk of someone who knew that the way to make everyone smile was through laughter.

"Hang on," Castle's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, seeing that he had a next text message. Unlocking his phone, he opened it, noticing that Beckett was also pulling out her phone. He rolled his eyes, reading Esposito's message; "hows ur date with beckett?? ;)"

Castle rolled his eyes, replying with a simple: "its not a date, alexis is w/ us too". But this time, he got a text from Ryan in response; "u bettr have condoms with u. a mini castle or beckett would b scary."

"why would that be scary and beckett and I are not having sex" Castle replied, sending the text to both Ryan and Esposito, looking up as Beckett groaned.

Beckett also looked down at her phone, shaking her head at Lanie's text: "u have sex with castle yet? ;) u know u want 2"

"we r at dinner, with alexis." Beckett replied, setting her phone in her lap.

"Are you two texting each other or the same person?" Alexis looked between them, "And tell me the truth."

"Lanie," Beckett replied, looking at Castle, "You?"

"Ryan and Esposito, they want to know how our 'date' is going." Castle looked at Alexis, "You didn't say anything did you?"

"No, why would I have said anything?" Alexis looked innocently between them, "Who would I be to spill your secret to the world?"

Castle looked at his daughter, trying not to laugh, "Alexis, did you?"

"Please say you didn't," Beckett began, "The last time this happened, rumors started flying all over the city."

"I might have mentioned that dad was busy tonight," Alexis admitted, "I didn't even know that you were coming with us Beckett, my dad only mentioned it this afternoon when he got home."

"Alexis," Beckett began, "I mentioned it to you last week, remember?"

"Oh, okay, fine." Alexis couldn't help but smile, "I might have mentioned it to Lanie, but I made it clear that I was coming too!"

"Say anything to Lanie about your dad and I and she forgets everything else that you just told her." Beckett had to laugh at that.

"Exactly," Castle sighed, pulling out his phone, glaring at the messages he had received, "No, Ryan and Esposito, Beckett and I are not on a date." He turned off his phone and put it in his pocket, ignoring the laughs from both Beckett and Alexis.

"They're convinced of it too?" Beckett paused between her laughter and looked up at Castle, her stomach fluttering slightly as his eyes met hers. "Great; Lanie, Ryan and Esposito all are convinced." she swallowed to herself, taking a sip of water, directing her eyes towards the floor.

"I'll be right back," Alexis stood suddenly, "Paige just called me, said it's easier to plan instead of text messages, I'll be by the entrance if you need me. Dad, you better order for me." She took off, leaving Castle and Beckett sitting alone at the table together, nervously avoiding eye contact.

* * *

**AN: Next chapter should be done sometime this week, stress from the end of the quarter is now gone, but I'm still impossibly busy!**

**x**


	8. Chapter Seven

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Don't know if Beckett has a BlackBerry, I can just see her having one and her phone looks a lot like one.**

**Sorry for the delay in updating, was busy packing. BUT, good news for you guys, my trip has been cancelled due to the volcanic ash, so I will be able to write over my vacation.**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Seven _

Castle swirled the water around in his water glass, avoiding all possible eye contract with Beckett. He had felt it too, when they made eye contract, there had been some sort of connection or spark. Amusing himself with the silverware on the table, he balanced the fork and spoon, before looking up at Beckett. She sat quietly across from him, also avoiding his gaze, checking her emails on her BlackBerry.

"Beckett?" Castle looked up, seeing the waiter arrive, "Do you want to order first?"

"Oh, yes," Beckett looked up, "The Chicken Parmesan, along with a side ceaser salad." She handed her menu over to the waiter, "Castle, you next?"

"I'll have your beef steak, medium-rare please," Castle also handed over his menu, "And my daughter will have a Chicken Parmesan as well."

"Of course," the waiter took the three menus, heading into the kitchen, leaving Castle and Beckett sitting quietly at the table again. The two of them looked at each other, before going back what they had previously been doing; Beckett checking her Blackberry and Castle now amusing himself with the ice floating in his glass.

"Beckett?" Castle looked up at her, "Are you okay?" He set aside his fork, which he had been using to play with the ice, leaning on his elbows to look at her.

"I...I'm fine," she pushed her chair back, taking Alexis', "Don't worry, I know how long girls can talk." Beckett leaned back in the chair, reaching over and sipping a glass of red wine, which she had ordered already.

"No you aren't," Castle was clearly aware of Beckett's emotions, even though he couldn't tell what exactly they were, and the fact that she knew that he could read her so well.

"Actually, you're right," Beckett began, "I'm not fine. Do you want to know why? Because I'm completely sick of the entire precinct thinking that we're together when we aren't. And because your mother and daughter can't stop hinting at it too, not to mention that my two colleagues and my best friend are constantly hinting at us having a relationship."

"Whoa, whoa," Castle held up his hand, "Beckett slow down, it's just a rumor, that doesn't mean that you have to let it get to you. Remember last time this happened? We still continued to work together."

"That was different," Beckett began, trying to find a worthwhile argument.

"No it wasn't," Castle glanced around, looking for Alexis, "Where is she?"

"Still chatting," Beckett replied, "Give her time Castle, she's making plans with her friend."

"Fine," Castle caught Beckett's eye again and leaned back in his chair, before sitting up again.

"What?" Beckett asked, looking up at Castle, "You keep watching me."

"So?"

"It's weird Castle," Beckett asked, standing, "I'm going to go see if I can find Alexis, she's starting to make me wonder."

"She'll be fine Kate," Castle pulled Beckett back into her seat as she went to head towards the front of the restaurant, "If Alexis needed us then she'd call me."

"Castle..." Beckett protested, "just let me go talk to her."

"Beckett, as worried as you are about Alexis, I trust her more than anything." He smiled, his eyes darting towards where Alexis was still talking on the phone. "I can see that you want to protect her but Alexis is fine right now. I'm more worried about you getting worried over Alexis – you don't need to worry about her right now. Alexis is my responsibility, not yours."

Beckett blinked at Castle, a faint smile on her lips, before she leaned forwards, her lips meeting his in a passionate kiss. She reached over, lacing her fingers with his, her eyes closing as Castle's lips moved over hers.

"Kate?" Castle pulled back from the kiss, "What...?"

"I'm sorry," Beckett stood, "I'll go get Alexis, you two can enjoy dinner."

"No, Kate," Castle pulled her back to her seat again, "Don't run away from us, and I mean Alexis or I." He took her hands in his, "I care about you, I don't know my exact feelings for you, but they certainly are strong. I can't let you run away from our friendship because of the fact that you're worried about how I would react."

"But ..." Beckett began, but stopped as Castle kissed her roughly, his lips covering hers. He nibbled on her lower lip and she couldn't help but whimper as his fingers traced a pattern on her knee.

What they missed was a flustered Alexis Castle heading back towards their table, before spotting them. A smile spread across the teenage girl's lips, before she hurried back towards the entrance, only to disappear outside to call Lanie about what she had just spotted. But her fingers never touched her cellphone's keypad again, because the minute she stepped outside, she was whisked away by a woman dressed in a blue pantsuit.

- - -

"Don't you think that Alexis would be back now?" Beckett broke the awkward silence a few minutes later, "She can't have been on the phone that long."

"Let's go," Castle dropped a check on the table, having known enough about the people behind the counters, to know about what his bill would be.

"You can guess your bill like that?" Beckett asked in surprise as she slipped her arm though his, "Or was that just another "we're buddies" kind of thing?"

"A bit of both," Castle and her walked from the lobby, stepping outside the restaurant, looking around the front of the building.

"Alexis?" Beckett left Castle's side, walking back and forth in front of the street, digging through her purse. "Alexis?" Her voice was filled with worry and thick with fear, yet no matter how hard she tried to hide it, Castle could tell it was there.

"Paige?" Castle had his phone out, "Hi, it's Alexis' dad, have you spoken with her at all tonight?"

"Yeah, she just hung up with me, she told me that she had to go back to dinner. Why?" Paige sounded happy, "Also, we decided that we weren't gonna go see _Shutter Island_, just have a sleep over here."

"Well, okay..." Castle trailed off slightly, seeing Beckett wave him over, "I'm not exactly sure if that's possible right now Paige."

"Why?" Paige sounded worried, "She was fine a few minutes ago, I mean I just talked to her. What could have happened in five minutes?"

"A lot of stuff," Castle stopped at Beckett's side, placing a hand on her back, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. "What Beckett?"

"End the conversation, I don't think that her best friend will want to know this." Beckett straightened up, glaring at Castle until he hung up and glanced along the street, surprised to see it so empty.

"What?" Castle looked at Beckett, "Paige is Alexis' best friend, she's probably worrying even more now."

"Look," Beckett pointed at the ground, "Skid marks."

"So...?" Castle looked up at Beckett, "You think she's gone?"

"That's exactly what I think," Beckett pulled out her phone, dialing the precinct, before marching back into the restaurant and up to the waiter at the front counter. "Kate Beckett, NYPD."

"Kate," Castle hurried back in after her, "What are you doing?"

"My job," Beckett glanced at him before turning back to the waiter, "Did any of you happen to see anyone come by here but not enter the restaurant?"

"Sure," A woman who was seated along a booth nodded, "She seemed rich too, had her hair under a black cap, you know, the classic looking kidnapper?"

"Exactly," Castle nodded, he pulled out his phone, starting to record what the woman was saying.

"She looked about her age," she nodded at Beckett, who was on the phone with Captain Montgomery. "Went up to a girl out there, didn't say anything, just tagged her on the shoulder and lead her off." Castle's stomach dropped and he nodded, knowing that he couldn't handle hearing anything else.

"You all right?" Beckett slipped her hand into Castle's, squeezing it quickly, "The woman's right isn't she?"

"I … I don't know," Castle replied, obviously worried, "What are we going to do now?"

"Go find Alexis, what else?" Beckett nearly pulled Castle from the restaurant, leading him back to her car and unlocking it. "You wait here, I'll go look at your car."

"Beckett," Castle went after her, "I'm staying besides you, I'm not going to let you do anything irrational because it's my daughter you're looking for."

"I'm a cop Castle," she looked over her shoulder at him, "We do irrational things to save other people's lives."

"Not for this family you aren't," Castle caught Beckett's wrist, pulling her back towards him. "Anything you do to get Alexis is done with me, she's my daughter and I need to protect her more than anything."

"And cops protect everyone," Beckett pulled her wrist out of Castle's grasp, "Come on if you're so insistent on following me."

"Fine," Castle matched her pace for pace across the parking garage, reaching for her hand and keeping it clasped in his. "What?" He smiled at her as Beckett glanced over her shoulder at him, "I can't really protect you any other way can I?"

"Not really," Beckett tensed as they stopped in front of Castle's car, her eyes adjusting to the splash of color it has been doused in.

"That's … new car..." Castle squeaked out, "Who?"

"I don't know," Beckett ran her finger along a pale yellow taillight, the wet paint coming off and coating her finger. "It's fresh, look for anything around the car. Paint footprints, tire skids, you know – the usual."

* * *

**AN: So, who was it?**

**Also, I might consider giving spoilers out on my Twitter, so follow katheryn_wilson for story updates and katherynmae (locked twitter) if you want to follow me and be able to communicate with me more.**

**x**


	9. Chapter Eight

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Eight _

Castle paced back forth across the parking lot as Ryan and Esposito circled the car, examining every inch of it. Leaning against her own car, Beckett rubbed her feet, her heels sitting on the back seat.

"You two were on a date?" Lanie pulled up, even though there was no death on scene, she wanted to be there, knowing that Beckett would take Alexis' death hard.

"Alexis was with us," Beckett climbed into the backseat of her car, shivering slightly in the November air, too tried to argue.

"She was?" Lanie was surprised at this, "Oh."

"Yeah, she was," Beckett shivered again, peeking out of her, seeing Castle watching her out of the corner of his eye. She slipped on a pair of sneakers, before hurrying across the parking lot towards him, embracing him in a surprise hug.

"Hey Beckett," Castle let her hug him and he put his arms around her fondly, "What's wrong?"

"We should have told her right then and there that she could go." Beckett looked up at Castle and his heart crumbled at the tears in her eyes.

"Kate," Castle whispered quietly in her ear, "It's going to be okay, I promise you. It's going to turn out fine in the end." Beckett turned her eyes on him, wiping her tears, before burying her face on his shoulder again. Hugging her tightly, Castle pressed a discrete kiss to her forehead, "Don't cry, please Kate, for Alexis' sake – you need to be strong for her."

"I can't be," Beckett whispered, "Not right now."

"Kate?" Lanie came over to them, "You all right girl?"

"She's fine," Castle replied quickly, ignoring Lanie's raised eyebrows at his quick response. "And don't give me that look, not now."

"Does your mother know?" Ryan and Esposito also headed their way, exchanging glances between each other, Castle and Beckett.

"Not yet," Castle let go of Beckett reluctantly as she straightened up and headed towards her car again, Lanie only turning around to follow her.

"You two were on a date?!" Ryan and Esposito asked, echoing Lanie's words.

"No we weren't," Castle replied, "Alexis and I went to dinner and we wanted to invite Beckett along."

"Then why do you have lipstick on your cheek?" Ryan pointed and Castle's hand flew to his cheek, rubbing the offending smudge off.

"It's Alexis'," he lied quickly, "I let her dress up."

"And Alexis just so happens to have the same lipstick as Beckett?" Esposito smirked, "And on your lips as … Oh. My. God! You and Beckett _are _together."

"No we aren't!" Beckett called across the parking lot where she was kneeling on the ground, looking at the skid marks.

"Anyone have a nail file?" Lanie looked up at the group that was surrounding her, "I need to get a sample of this tar, but someone grab a photo of the skid marks. Ryan, see if you can get images of tire tracks that are similar to this one, then you and Esposito can try to ID these skids." She stood, looking towards Castle's paint covered car, "Are you two going to see what you can do about that paint?"

"I'm betting that it's washable paint," Beckett dragged a fingernail through the yellow paint on the back license plate, scratching off the color to reveal the while beneath it. "Guess we can leave this thing under water for a while then wait for it to be gone."

"How are we going to move it if we can't see out of the windows?" Castle picked at the paint on the drivers' door handle before prying open the door.

"Like this," Beckett slipped into the car, her hand brushing against Castle's lightly, before she seated herself in the driver's seat. "Keys Castle?"

"Don't do anything stupid with that car," Ryan teased, "Castle would never be able to forgive you."

"I think I could forgive her," Castle smiled slightly, "Beckett is an easy person to forgive." He knelt besides the car, turning on the windshield wipers and windshield washer fluid.

"Better," Lanie nodded as the paint dripped off the car, but she froze as she spotted black lettering staining the red hood.

"What's that?" Beckett got out of the car, looking at the hood, reading it aloud, "'You know who I am, Alexei will be next.'"

"Call the tour group," Castle snapped, "Keep Alexei Summers covered by chaperones at all times."

"I'll dust for prints on the hood," Lanie put in, "Though I think the washing you gave it might have lessened my chances to find any. Soaking the hood doesn't help too much Beckett," she elbowed her friend, waving Esposito over.

"So, speaking of being together..." Beckett nodded at Esposito, who headed towards her, Lanie and Castle, "What about you two?"

"What about us?' Lanie asked, "Esposito and I aren't together."

"I'll believe that in a million years," Castle rolled his eyes, "Unlike Beckett and I, you two don't hide secrets very well."

"And neither do you two," Ryan slipped up besides them, eavesdropping, "Half the people in there thought you two were together." He smirked, "Including the waiter at your table."

"We're friends," Beckett snapped, "We've always been like this."

"Not to the point where you two are going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant." Esposito put in, "This is all new for the two of you, both of you have the hots for each other, just admit it and save us all a lot of grief later on."

"We aren't together," Castle insisted, "That doesn't mean that we can't go out to dinner together."

"At a fancy restaurant?" Lanie quirked her eyebrows.

"Uh, are you guys seriously fighting over the possibility of Castle and I hiding a relationship from you while Alexis is missing?" Beckett didn't even bother to hide her laughter, "I think Alexis comes first."

"Right," Castle nodded, "Should we spread out on foot while keeping the staff here on alert for her? I know these guys well enough to trust them to do their jobs and keep an eye out for Alexis."

"You're buddies with them too?" Esposito asked, "Geez, are you buddies with everyone in this city?"

"All he has to do is say his name and all the women are falling over for him," Lanie tried not to glare pointedly at Beckett when she spoke.

"I have to admit, but you're..." Beckett started, but she stopped, seeing a shadow slip along the opposite wall. A woman in a blue pantsuit. "After her," she hissed to Ryan and Esposito, "Lanie, you stay here, wait for us to get back. Castle and I will circle around the other way, try and meet up with her."

"Okay," Lanie nodded, seating herself in Castle's car, "I'll be waiting here."

"Let's go," Beckett pulled Castle alongside the left of the restaurant, the two of them slipping down the alley between a towering apartment complex and lines of garbage bins. As they went along, Castle pulled Beckett closer to him, his arm slipping around her waist, before he pushed her against the wall, kissing her lips lightly.

"You promised me that you won't do anything stupid, right?" He looked her in the eyes, "That's my job as Alexis' dad, got it?"

"Castle..." Beckett tried to pry his hands off her waist, "We have a possible suspect to catch, let go of me."

"Of course," Castle kissed Beckett's forehead lightly before letting her go, both of them continuing along the alleyway.

"Go, she's up that alley!" Ryan's voice echoed around them and Beckett looked up, freezing as the woman in the pantsuit raced towards them. Castle grabbed a trash can, thrusting it past Beckett, urging it towards the woman as it rolled onto it's side.

"What the hell?" the woman froze, stuck in the alley between Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito. "Who are you people?"

"Detective Kate Beckett," Beckett kicked some of the scattered garbage aside, "Why were you running from them?" She nodded at Ryan and Esposito, who were both smirking behind their hands at the obvious fact that Castle had a faint red lipstick mark on his cheek.

"They began going after me, I had no clue why the hell they'd want to chase after me." The woman glared at both Ryan and Esposito, who stopped laughing as Beckett turned her gaze on them too.

"You two, I know you're not laughing about anything to do with this case, so shut up." She glared at them, "See anything around her?"

"I … why are you all after me?"

"You were spotted outside the front of this restaurant, conversing with someone who was outside there." Castle put in, rubbing the offending lipstick mark off his cheek awkwardly. "Did you know that person?"

"Not really, half the people in this city talk to people without knowing them if they need directions." The woman snapped.

"So you decided the drag the person off with you until you got them out of sight?" Beckett snapped, "And where are they now?"

"Your hands are yellow, and pink, and purple, and blue." Esposito noted, "That's the same colors that the car is covered in. What were you doing with that paint?"

"It's none of your business." The woman snapped, sniffing her nose in distaste.

"It is if it involves you covering a car in multi-colored pastel paints and then denying it." Beckett snapped, "Where's the girl you were talking to?"

The woman nodded her head back past Ryan and Esposito, stepping aside as Castle headed back past them, Beckett following him.

"Alexis?" Castle shouted, his voice echoing off the brick walls, "Alexis Castle!" He pulled Beckett towards him, both of them shouting for her.

"Dad?" A voice called and Castle let go of Beckett's waist.

"Alexis?" He looked around, hearing footsteps.

"Over here," Alexis pushed her way through a pile of garbage cans, her dress slightly torn and dirty.

"Alexis!" Beckett hurried towards her, her heels clicking on the cement, "Are you all right?"

"Yes … I'm fine," she caught her dad's eyes, seeing them shinning with pride, joy and something she couldn't completely recognize.

"But...?" Castle joined both Alexis and Beckett, looking at them fondly.

"There's … something you might want to see." Alexis swallowed slightly, pressing herself against Beckett's side, shuddering. "Both of you, please?"

"Okay," Beckett nodded, speaking for both her and Castle, "Let's go."

* * *

**AN: Okay, yeah, the random kidnapping will all make sense at the end of next chapter!**

**x**


	10. Chapter Nine

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Tom Demming ... I ... you...no.**

**The part in italics is supposed to be from _Naked Heat _- if you haven't read _Heat Wave _then I'm not sure how to not spoil the book. It does spoil the last page (literally!) of _Heat Wave _but it's super important to the chapter and the upcoming one.**

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Nine _

Alexis lead both her father and Beckett along a small, narrow alley that ran parallel to the restaurant, keeping herself as quiet as possible. She stepped around a few piles of trash, before reaching a small, square opening in the wall. Ducking down, she crawled on her hands and knees inside, waving for Castle and Beckett to follow her. Reaching up, she flicked a small switch, bathing the room in a dim light.

"What?" Beckett was first in the small room-like shelter, "Is this?"

"Where she brought me," Alexis nodded at a large black curtain that was draped across one wall, "That's what you want to take a look at, it's what's worried me."

"Whoa, this place is warm," Castle ignored the fact that his dress pants were covered in dirt, "Right?" He scooted towards where Alexis knelt, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm okay dad," Alexis whispered, jumping as Beckett's cellphone rang.

"Sorry," Beckett blushed, sitting back on her heels, answering it and putting it on speakerphone.

"Where are you?" Ryan's voice crackled over the speaker, "Esposito, Lanie and I have her."

"What's her name?" Castle asked.

"Millicent Reynolds," Esposito's voice also came on the speaker, "Says that the Tom Reynolds we're looking for is her cousin."

"Interesting," Beckett scooted towards the curtain that Alexis had pointed out, examining it quietly. "Is there any possible way Lanie can get back here?"

"Where's 'back here'?" Lanie's voice also came onto the speaker, "Where are you guys?"

"In Millicent's hide away," Castle replied, "where Alexis was taken."

"Oh, then I'm on it," Lanie's voce sounded further away, "I'm coming."

"I'll go find her," Alexis crawled on her hands and knees, hurrying from the shelter.

"Kate?" Castle looked up, sliding towards her, "Sorry about dinner."

"It's fine," Beckett laughed, "We can grab something later, I'll be fine for a while." She glanced awkwardly at Castle's hand as he laced his fingers with hers.

"Kate?" Castle looked her in the eye, "Thanks." He leaned forwards, wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his lips against hers. Beckett wrapped her arms around Castle's neck, running her fingers through his hair, pressing herself against him, flicking her tongue against Castle's lips playfully.

"Right here?" Lanie's voice echoed outside and Beckett pulled back, her cheeks bright red, "Okay, you first, you're the younger of the two." Alexis crawled back into the shelter-like room, Lanie following her, both of them hiding their smirks at Castle and Beckett's closeness.

"Back here," Alexis moved towards the curtain, "This worries me." She tugged at it, pulling it down, causing Lanie, Beckett and Castle to gasp in surprise.

A large, typeface banner hung across the top of the space, spelling out 'Tom Reynold's Junk Shop' and under it hung a picture of a man they assumed to be Tom Reynolds. The rest of the wall was covered in slips of paper, Each paper looked a bit different, but they all contained the same words, "Elizabeth James".

"Elizabeth..."

"...James."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other, finishing each others sentences again.

"See?" Lanie smirked at them, "You two are adorable together."

"Lanie!" Beckett glared at them, before freezing, hearing a set of footsteps outside the shelter.

"Get over here," Castle hissed, pulling both Beckett and Alexis towards him as Lanie glanced towards the entrance, before tossing the curtain over the wall and moving towards the group.

"Here," Lanie pushed a gun into Beckett's hands, "You're the best with them, you protect us."

"No," Castle hissed, taking the gun from Beckett and setting it behind his lap, breathing a sigh as the footsteps moved past the shelter and faded away.

"That was close," Alexis breathed, spotting Beckett reach for Castle's hand and squeeze it tightly, and she contained a squeal.

"I know," Beckett leaned her head against Castle's shoulder, keeping her hand in his.

"So are you two together or not?" Lanie nodded at their clasped hands, "I just want to know."

"No," Castle leaned against the wall, "But let's get back, Ryan and Esposito probably have no clue where we went."

"Not really," Beckett crawled out of the shelter first, her and Alexis heading towards the front of the restaurant, walking step for step.

"Seriously Castle," Lanie waited for him, "You like Kate, just ask her out. I won't do anything unless you break her heart, then that's when you worry."

"Lanie, don't give me the best friend warning right now," Castle glanced down at Beckett's gun, which he still held in his hand, "I have a gun."

"My best friend's gun, I'll remind you," Lanie grinned, "I don't know if Beckett would be too pleased with you if you hurt me."

"I know," Castle lead the way along the alleyway, "I wouldn't be worried either."

"So, you were alone with Beckett in there," Lanie began, "You kiss her by any chance?"

"I'm not going to tell you that," Castle insisted, stepping out of the alleyway and making a beeline for his car.

"Hey Castle," Beckett waved them over to her car, "You and Alexis are getting a ride with me, Ryan got the owners to let you keep your car for the night. It's supposed to rain tonight, hopefully the paint will have washed off by morning." She unlocked her car, clearing out a space in the back for Alexis, "C'mon you two, I can give you both a ride home."

"Thanks!" Alexis climbed into the backseat, taking a blanket that Beckett offered her and covering herself with it, falling asleep almost immediately.

"She must be exhausted," Lanie leaned in the window to look at Alexis, "All she was expecting was dinner and time to chill."

"Yeah," Beckett started up the car, waiting for Castle to climb into the passenger seat, "None of us really expected it."

"Lanie!" Esposito honked the horn of the other car, "Let's go, we've gotta get back to the station, document this and sleep!"

"Fine," Lanie waved at them to show that she had heard, "See you guys later, bye." She hurried towards the other car, getting into the backseat, before they went off.

"Are they together?" Castle watched the car pull out, leaning back in the seat.

"Who?" Beckett started up the engine of the car, easing it out of the parking lot.

"Lanie and Esposito," Castle reached over, grabbing a piece of gum from the console, "they look like it."

"I'm not sure," Beckett admitted, "They do work well together but Lanie hasn't said anything."

"Maybe like they keep teasing us about?" Castle looked at the buildings as they drove along. "Trying to turn the tables on us?"

"Possibly," Beckett shrugged, "It really would but Lanie and I aren't completely alike, that is if you're comparing them to us. I mean, she and I are similar but when's the last time you heard me call someone 'girl'?" She glanced over at Castle, "And you don't act like Esposito all that much."

"Really?" Castle laughed, "You think Esposito and I aren't alike at all? Thank goodness, but he might get offended by that one."

"So would Ryan," Beckett gave a nod to the duo's partnership, "You're the oddball out of all of us – you're the only one who's not a detective, could live alone forever -"

"Excuse me?" Castle looked over at her, pretending to be offended, "I certainly could not live alone forever. I mean really Beckett; I've been married twice, live with my mother and spend way too much time with you detectives."

"And that's a bad thing?" Beckett poked Castle in the arm, "You're the one who got _another _top best-seller within a few days of publishing because of us. Or should I be really self-centered and say because of me?" She laughed, "Why in the world would we all be getting on your bad side after a best-seller?"

"You're not on my bad side, none of you are – except maybe Lanie but I'm not sure why." Castle smiled faintly, "And when I say you, I mean _especially _not you Beckett."

"Good because I don't think that Montgomery wants to loose you anytime soon." Beckett pulled into an empty parking space in the parking garage below Castle's apartment, "Do you want to wake Alexis up or should I?"

"Do you mind doing it?" Castle asked, "She hates me for it, maybe you won't be so bad."

"No problem," Beckett hid her laughter and shut off the engine, hopping out of the car and going around the other side to Alexis' door. Opening it, she leaned in, gently shaking Alexis' shoulder, "Hey, Alexis, time to wake up."

"Mmhuh?" Alexis looked up, blinking rapidly, "Oh hey Beckett." She rubbed her eyes, "Where are we? Are we at home or somewhere else?"

"You're home," Beckett replied, taking the blanket and folding it a few times before tossing it up front, "You dad says you need to still go to school tomorrow, I'd recommend bed soon then."

"Oh-kay," Alexis yawned loudly, slipping from the car and following her father upstairs, walking besides Beckett the whole time.

"Come here," Castle put his arm around Alexis' shoulders, hugging her, "I'm glad that you're safe now, and that we got a few more details on the case." He glanced at Beckett as her phone rang.

"Hang on," Beckett pulled out her phone, "Beckett."

"Hey," Ryan's voice crackled over the speaker, "Turns out that the Tom Reynolds guy has an alibi, he was on a plane from Texas the night Elizabeth was murdered. Apparently he's got a girlfriend in Dallas, lists her number a load of times in the cousin's phone too."

"Really?" Beckett leaned against the wall of the elevator, "Keep his cousin in holding though, let's get proof that he was actually on that flights."

"All right then, we'll keep you guys on alert if anything comes up. See you tomorrow Beckett,' he paused, "And tell the same to Castle as well." Ryan hung up, leaving Beckett silent and slightly embarrassed, before she shifted her gaze to the floor.

"You okay?" Castle asked as the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open, letting Alexis dart out. He reached over, putting an arm around Beckett's shoulders.

"Fine, fine," Beckett nodded, shrugging Castle's arm off her shoulder, heading towards the apartment.

"You got the keys dad?" Alexis looked up as Beckett stopped besides her, looking a lot like her father.

"Beckett does," Castle tossed them to her, allowing Beckett to unlock the apartment door and let them all inside. Alexis hugged Beckett first, then her father, wishing them each a goodnight before hurrying up to her room, letting the door click shut behind her.

Once it was quiet, Beckett sat on the couch, picking up a copy of the manuscript for _Naked Heat_, hearing Castle shuffling around in the kitchen. Leaning back in the couch cushions, she made herself comfortable before opening it to a random page.

- - -

"_Listen Rook … Jameson," Heat was looking at him, her head cocked slightly to one side. She leaned against her kitchen counters, watching him put on his jacket. "What is this anyways?" _

"_What do you mean by 'this'?" Rook turned to look at her, his hands freezing as he stopped buttoning his coat. _

"_Us sleeping together, it's not helping anyone, there's nothing more than meaningless sex." _

"_It is?" Rook set down his shoulder bag, "What gives you that idea?" _

"_Oh, nothing," Heat went back to making her coffee, remaining silent, her eyes focused on the mug in front of her._

"_What?" Rook was across the room in a minute, his arms around her waist, pressing himself into her back. "Did I say something?"_

"_Stupid, yes. As always." Heat pulled herself from his grasp, heading down the hallways towards her bedroom._

"_That isn't what I meant." Rook followed her, ignoring the obvious sense that she wanted to be left alone. "Nikki, I'm sorry if I said anything but you know I didn't mean it." _

"_Really?" She looked over her shoulder at him for a split second, "Then why are you still following me?" _

"_Because," Rook hoped the deep breath he had just taken wasn't obvious, "I care about you." _

"_Rook...don't do this." Nikki Heat stopped outside her bedroom door, meeting his eyes directly. _

"_Why not?" Rook leaned forwards, kissing her lips gently, his arms slipping around her waist, "I do care about you Nikki, more than anything." He pressed her against the closed bedroom door, deepening the kiss, "You know that too." _

"_No, I don't think I do," Heat broke off their kiss, looking away from him, "I don't know if I ever did." _

"_You do now," Rook turned her chin towards him, looking into her eyes. "I love you Nikki Heat."_

_- - -_

Beckett stopped reading, looking up to where Castle sat, looking at her curiously, and she nodded, setting down the manuscript, a smile on her lips.

"You think it works?" Castle asked, completely unaware of the butterflies that had taken flight in Beckett's stomach again, or of the scene she had just read. "I wasn't sure if the plot line worked with it ..."

"I love you too," Beckett whispered, fiddling with her mother's ring, not meeting Castle's eyes. She swallowed, hearing him go quiet, before she looked up, her eyes meeting his.

* * *

**AN: Sorry, I know I'm cruel to end it there! **

**xx**


	11. Chapter Ten

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: Next chapter will contain … SMUT. *dances***

* * *

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Ten _

Castle didn't respond right away, he looked at the manuscript in Beckett's hands instead, before standing. He moved towards his office, looking out the window, remaining silent the whole time. Leaning against the wall, he looked over at Beckett, who still watched him silently, the manuscript in her lap.

"Castle?" Beckett's voice came out as a whisper, "I … did I say something?"

"No," Castle held out his hand, beckoning her over. "Just come here so we can talk."

"Tell me the truth, did I say anything to upset you, anything at all?" Beckett stood in the doorway, unsure of what Castle wanted to talk to her about.

"Not anything that would have upset me," Castle moved towards her, "Only things that would make me smile." He stopped, looking into her eyes, "Did you like it?"

Beckett nodded, leaning forwards and kissing Castle on the lips lightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, looking him in the eyes, "You've had my heart for a long time Richard Castle. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were special to me." Stretching up, she kissed his nose lightly, rubbing her nose against his, pressing herself against him.

"Beckett," Castle left a trail of kisses on her skin from her ear to her collarbone, "i love you." He nuzzled her neck, kissing her softly.

"I love you too," Beckett shuddered in his arms as his fingers traced faint, slightly ticklish patterns on her neck. She threaded her fingers through Castle's hair, gasping as his lips found a sensitive spot on her neck.

"Kate," Castle broke his trail of kisses, looking her in the eye, "What was that?"

"My phone," Beckett pulled herself reluctantly from Castle's grasp, heading across the living room to where she had left her phone. She sat on the couch, rolling her eyes at seeing Esposito's number in the caller ID, "Beckett."

"You gotta come into the precinct now," Esposito sounded excited, "We've got a lot of news."

"Oh … okay," Beckett replied, "I'll let Castle know too." She waved him over, threading her fingers through his, "We'll see you in a little bit."

"Bye you guys," Esposito hung up, leaving Castle and Beckett to look at one another.

"Ready?" Castle pulled Beckett to her feet, "We get to walk in there as a couple now."

"Very cute," Beckett scribbled a note to Alexis before pulling on her jacket and slipping her hand into Castle's. The two of them headed from the apartment, locking the door behind them, going down to the garage in silence, their hands joined.

"Nervous?" Castle asked, opening the door into the garage, his hand still in Beckett's.

"A little," Beckett released her grasp on his hand, unlocking the car and climbing in the drivers seat.

"Are you sure that you want to drive?" Castle teased, circling around and getting in the passenger seat. "You sure it's a good idea for you to drive?"

"And why wouldn't it be?" Beckett glanced at Castle, a smile on her lips as she started the engine of the car and pulled out of the garage. Reaching over, she laced her hand with Castle's, squeezing it gently before pulling his hand into her lap, resting it on her knee.

"You're distracted by me of course," Castle squeezed Beckett's knee gently, "Oh, right in here." He pointed to a space in between two cars and they slipped through, moving towards the heart of Manhattan.

"Thanks," Beckett zipped along the less crowded streets, weaving in and out of stopped cars, Castle's hand on her knee calming her.

"There they are," Castle pointed as they pulled up in front of the precinct, and quickly, he returned his hand to his lap as Lanie hurried towards them, tapping the window.

"Open up," she called, and the minute the doors were unlocked, she, Ryan and Esposito all climbed into the back seat.

"What's going on?" Beckett asked, unsure if she should turn off the car engine or not.

"Just drive," Ryan insisted, "We've got a call from the hotel where Elizabeth's parents are staying, no one's been answering any calls all day. They ordered room service for a dinner about three hours and no one answered." He shifted uncomfortably in the back seat, stuck between Esposito and Lanie, "The room's been dead silent all day, no one has been in or out, they called us over since Elizabeth's dad informed us that they were in from out of town for the investigation.

"Okay," Beckett turned down the radio on the car, "Any other information that's come up about the trip itself?"

"We've been keeping our own tabs on the hotel where the class is staying, nothing looks suspicious yet." Esposito put in, "The camera room seems like the lighting was normal though, it's been doing the same thing all day."

"Oh, would there be somewhere where light might be coming into the hallway that could be getting obstructed on and off?" Castle asked, "Maybe a window that can be seen from the room where Elizabeth and her friend's were staying?"

"Possible," Beckett glanced at Castle, resting her hand on the gearshift, letting her fingers brush his for a second, "Why would the room have to be visible from the security room?"

"If there's two people working together," Castle explained, "Person A goes into the room, them being the killer, to set the bullet. While they do that, Person B hides out, just outside the window by the camera room. When Person A makes an escape through the window, Person B is able to cover the window or something so it looks like it's natural."

"Oh." Ryan, Lanie and Esposito were surprised.

"I kind of understand it," Beckett glanced over at Castle, before reaching over, taking his hand.

"So you two _are _lying!" Lanie grinned, "How long have you two been dating then?"

"Not long," Castle admitted, seeing Beckett blush and try to pull her hand back, "Since this afternoon actually, _after _dinner."

"Aww," Ryan laughed, "You two are finally lovebirds now."

"Shut up," Beckett was blushing furiously, her cheeks flaming, "Tell anyone else in the precinct and you're all dead, got it?"

"Kate, it's fine," Castle squeezed her hand, ignoring the high-fives between Esposito and Ryan and Lanie's smirk. "They won't tell anyone."

"Very funny," Beckett looked at him, pulling up in front of the hotel where Mr. and Mrs. James were staying, she cut the engine before hopping swiftly from the car, striding into the building.

"You're a damn lucky fool to put up with Beckett," Ryan hissed at Castle, "But a lucky one at that." The two of them walked into the hotel, joining Beckett, Esposito and Lanie in the lobby.

"Hey," Castle slipped up besides Beckett, resting a hand on her back, "Are we going to split up, get one group to get camera tapes on the hallway and the others go up to the hotel room?"

"Probably not," Beckett hissed back, leaning back against his hand, "Staying together might be best for now."

"Okay, okay," Castle replied, dropping a kiss to her temple before they headed towards the elevators, key in hand.

"Gee you two," Lanie teased as they all stepped onto the elevators, only to recive a nudge in the shoulder from Esposito.

"And about you two," Beckett looked over at them, making herself comfortable in Castle's arms, "What's going on between you and Esposito?"

"Excuse me?" Lanie feigned ignorance, "Nothing!"

"Liar," Ryan elbowed Esposito now, "What were you telling me about you and Lanie going to dinner?"

"You two are dating," Beckett looked up, smiling, "Or explain this." She clicked a button on a cellphone, only to hear Esposito's phone go off.

"What?" Lanie clapped a hand to her jacket pocket, "Katherine Beckett, I can't believe you!" She grabbed her phone from Beckett, who grinned.

"Now I feel alone," Ryan pretended to pout, "I'll go sit in the corner and cry." He sat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, before jumping up, glaring at it.

"What?" Beckett looked over at him, her head on Castle's chest, "I thought you were upset."

"I would be more upset if I hadn't seen that," Ryan pointed towards the ceiling, "What's that?"

"I got it," Castle puled out his phone, snapping a photo of the necklace that dangled from the ceiling, before reaching up and unhooking it gingerly.

"Bag?" Lanie held out a bag, letting Castle drop the necklace into it, before tucking it away again.

"Good eye," Beckett stepped off the elevator, glancing around the hallway, before heading down towards the room that the James' had been staying in. Castle, Lanie, Esposito and Ryan hurried after her, the two other detectives checking the entrances as they went along.

"NYPD," Beckett banged on the door, "Mr. and Mrs. James, open up."

"Here," Castle slid the key through the lock, before pushing open the door, "You first." He followed Beckett into the room, Lanie and Esposito trailing after them, leaving Ryan at the doorway to keep watch.

"Beckett..." Lanie trailed off, "Get in here..." Her voice came from the bedroom and Beckett hurried in, stopping in her tracks, Castle and Esposito right behind her.

"Oh. My. God." Ryan had heard Lanie too and the five of them stared at the bedroom from the doorway. "Is that Elizabeth's mother?"

"You two look around for anything suspicious," Beckett nodded towards Ryan and Esposito, who swept into the room before her, scanning the opposite ends. She strode towards where Marie James was sprawled on the bed, slipping her hand into a glove. Picking up a sheet of paper, she waved Lanie over, dropping the paper in and sealing the bag.

"Look at this," Ryan stood in the doorway of the bathroom, staring at the mirror, "All of you."

"What?" Esposito was first in the room as well and he read aloud the lettering on the mirror, "_I knew you would all be here, thought I should remind you all about what happened to her daughter. Next time, it will be one of you._" Lanie swallowed, glancing around the room, before freezing as footsteps echoed in the kitchen.

"No one move," Beckett hissed, extracting herself from Castle's grasp, and she slunk from the room, Ryan and Esposito following her. The three of them stepped into the kitchen, leaving Castle to snap photos of the mirror and bedroom and Lanie to collect evidence.

"Mr. Alstard?" Beckett repeated, lowering the gun she held, "What are you doing here?"

"Elizabeth's father called me about twenty minutes ago, said that he wanted to talk to me and gave me this address."

"So it was meant for you," Ryan let go of the breath he had been holding, thinking that someone would jump at them at any minute. "Call your other chaperones, get all your students to the 12th precinct as fast as you can. Whoever killed Elizabeth James and her mother is either after any of you or any of us." Mr. Alstard nodded silently, hurrying from the room, Ryan going after him to ensure for his safety.

"Thank God," Esposito breathed, "I was completely convinced that the killer is after us."

"Esposito, Kate," Castle stuck his head around the doorway, "There's something you guys might want to see."

The two of them followed Castle back into the room, to where Lanie had pulled back the shower curtain, and Beckett sucked in a breath.

"Him too?" She reached for Castle's hand, lacing her fingers with his, "Someone call Ryan, have him tell Mr. Alstard before it's too late."

Esposito had his phone out and was on the phone with Ryan in a second; Lanie, Castle and Beckett all staring at Ricky Andersen's body in shock.

* * *

**AN: So, what was Ricky doing at the James' hotel room? Guess you'll never know ... *evil grin***

**Reminder, next chapter contains SMUT (aka, a sex scene). =p **

**x**


	12. Chapter Eleven

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

**AN: This chapter contains SMUT. The bold dashes will mark before and after the smut.

* * *

**

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Eleven _

"Beckett?" Castle reached over to take her hand as they headed across town. "Are you okay?'

"Fine," Beckett pulled into a parking space, shutting off the engine, "Do you want to come in for a late dinner?" She hopped from the car, seeing Castle follow her, "Should we order take out or heat up left overs?"

"Whatever you want," Castle followed her up the steps to the apartment's lobby. They took the elevator up, riding in silence, standing opposite the elevator's doors. Each floor dinged as they passed it and at Beckett's floor, they stepped off the elevator, walking hand in hand towards her apartment.

"Exhausted?" Beckett laughed, seeing Castle yawn as she unlocked the apartment door, stepping inside. Pulling Castle inside, she shut the door, locking it behind them.

"Not totally," Castle made his way over to the couch, kicking off his shoes and flopping on the couch, turning on the TV.

"Oh, so you came here to sleep?" Beckett sat down on the couch besides him, setting a few menus on the coffee table in front of him. "Before you try to sleep on that thing, pick a restaurant and decide what you want to order from it." She leaned closer, her breath on his cheek, "And don't tell me that you can't find one place to order from, I know you're starving and want to eat something."

"Yes, I do," Castle wound his arms around Beckett's waist, "I want to eat you." He pulled her into a sitting position on the couch, his arms around her. "You can pick something to get, I'll eat whatever you make."

"Pasta all right then?" Beckett asked, climbing off the couch, "There's enough leftovers for the two of us."

"Whatever you want to make Kate," Castle flipped through the channels, "You know that I'll eat anything that is remotely good and is set in front of me."

"We _all _know that Richard Castle," Beckett rolled her eyes, heading to the small kitchenette, "Anything to drink?"

"Water," Beckett poured herself a glass, "And don't ask for anything alcoholic, I don't have anything more than a bottle of beer."

"Sam Adams?" Castle teased, looking up at her, "Okay, okay." He cowered under her glare, "Water is fine."

"Very funny Castle," Beckett started the microwave up, digging through the cupboards and getting dinner ready.

"Hey," Castle crossed the kitchen in a few strides, wrapping his arms around Beckett's waist, "Don't rush dinner, we'll be here." He kissed her neck lightly, "I'll be here too."

"I know," Beckett turned to look at him, wrapping her arms around Castle's neck, "You don't need to promise me that because you're in trouble if you aren't."

"I know, I know." Castle touched his nose to hers, looking her in the eye, "I'm not going anywhere." He marked his words with light kisses on Beckett's cheeks, before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you," his fingers brushed against the bare skin above Beckett's belt, causing her to shiver against his touch.

"I love you too," Beckett rested her chin on Castle's shoulder as his lips traveled to her neck, her lips besides his ear. "Will you make love to me?" Her breath traveled across his ear and now it was Castle's turn to shiver at her words.

"Kate, Kate, Kate," Castle looked at her, "Are you sure about this?" He brushed her hair away from her face, looking into her eyes, brown on hazel.

Beckett dragged her lips from Castle's ear across his cheek to his lips, kissing them lightly, "Yes, I am." She reached up, undoing the top two buttons on his blazer, before running her hands down his arms, lacing her fingers with his.

**- - - Smut Line - - - **

Castle pulled his hands from hers gently, lifting her onto the counter, running hands hands up Beckett's thighs. He leaned forwards, pressing a tender kiss to her lips, his fingers tugging at her belt, undoing it and tossing it to the floor. His fingers slipped under her jacket, inching along her stomach, searching for the hem of her shirt. Beckett's lips were attacking his neck as he continued his paths across her stomach, and he pulled back to fuse his lips with hers again.

"Rick," Beckett breathed, breaking their passionate kiss, "I love you." She undid the rest of the buttons on his blazer, pulling it off and tossing it aside. Letting it land by the microwave, which contained the now heated pasta, she inched herself forwards on the counter, hooking a leg around Castle's waist. Castle's hands rested on her waist as she slipped her hands under his shirt, watching her movements.

"Creeper," Beckett laughed, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, "Stop watching me and pay attention." Castle gave a light chuckle, unzipping Beckett's jacket slowly and easing the material off her shoulders, letting it fall on the counter behind her. He leaned forwards, kissing her lips again, before pulling her into his arms, pulling her towards her bedroom.

The two of them seemed to stumble blindly down the hallway, still wrapped awkwardly in each others embrace. Beckett's arms were wrapped around Castle's neck and she leaned against his back. He pinned her against the bedroom door, sliding his arms up Beckett's sides, pulling her top with him. Easing it over her shoulders, he let it fall to the floor at their feet, before looking into her eyes.

"Bedroom?" Beckett's cheeks were tinged with a faint blush and Castle pushed open the door with his foot, easing himself around Beckett and pulling her into the room with him.

"You sure about this?" Beckett was surprised with Castle's voice as she crossed the room to draw the blinds shut and she turned to look at him, her hair framing her face in the dim lighting. She crossed the room quietly, kissing him lightly before undoing the rest of the buttons on his blazer and tossing it aside. She ran her hands down his chest, kneeling on the bed to undo his jeans and pull the material down, before pushing Castle lightly back onto the bed.

"So you're in charge?" Castle laughed as Beckett straddled his waist, placing feathery kisses on his chest. He flipped Beckett onto her back, causing her to squeal in surprise, before reaching down and undoing her jeans as well. Tossing them aside, he kissed Beckett's forehead lightly, pulling the straps of her bra down slowly.

"Stop it!" Beckett sat up, slipping her bra off completely, "You know how to torture women into waiting too long for you, not fall head over heels for you." She tossed it aside, crushing her lips to Castle's. Wrapping a leg around his, Beckett flipped Castle back onto his back, grinning down at him, "Who's the weak one now?"

"Cute," Castle reached up, brushing Beckett's hair out of her face, "Can I make love to you now?" He didn't wait for an answer, slipping out of his boxers and pulling Beckett to him, placing tender kisses on her neck.

"Rick," Beckett snuggled against his chest, her legs still wrapped around his waist, "Make love to me." Castle didn't need to be asked again, and he pulled Beckett to him, straddling her thin waist. He eased himself into her, pausing when she let out a quiet whimper, before pushing himself fully into her. Thrusting himself in and out of her, Castle continued to press kisses to Beckett's lips, becoming gentler as he continued.

"Kate," Castle's lips brushed her ear, "I love you." He felt her nails dig into his shoulders and he tensed, "Come for me Kate."

And she did, seconds later, gasping as they climaxed together, sweat lining their foreheads, bodies entwined.

**- - - End Smut Line - - - **

The faint ringing of a phone woke Beckett instantly and she sat straight up in bed, shivering slightly at the chilly air hit her bare skin. She climbed out of bed, reaching for a blanket to pull around herself, making her way from the bedroom to the kitchen. After flicking on the lights, she grabbed the ringing phone from her jacket pocket, and pressed it to her ear.

"Beckett." She yawned loudly, causing both Esposito and Ryan, who were on the other line, to laugh. "What?" Beckett snapped, "Why are you waking me at," her eyes searched for a clock, "Eleven thirty on the Saturday night?"

"Evidence," Ryan couldn't keep the smirk out of his voice, "What's got you so riled up over the late hour?"

"Nothing," Beckett replied, a bit too quickly.

"Espo is gonna call Castle and tell him that we're all meeting at the precinct in twenty." Ryan was currently twirling a pen between his fingers, waiting for Beckett to protest.

"It's fine," Ryan was on cue with Beckett's protest, "I can call him, it's easier for me to pick him up anyways." She breathed a sigh of relief as Ryan agreed, and hung up the phone.

"Kate?" Castle had woken up while she had been on the phone and he stood in the doorway, clad in a pair of pink and purple striped boxers.

"Castle, get dressed." Beckett said in between laughs, doubling up, holding onto the counter for support.

"What?" Castle caught her shoulders, "You didn't seem to mind my boxers last night." He waggled his eyebrows at her, before planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "I'll heat up some coffee, okay?"

"No," Beckett headed back down the hallway to her bedroom, keeping the blanket firmly wrapped around her body, "I got called in, give me five minutes to get dressed, we'll stop at your place so you can change, then we meet Ryan and Esposito at the precinct." She stood, barring Castle's entrance into her room, "_You _wait here, we'll never leave if I let you in with me." Clicking the lock shut, Beckett distinctly heard Castle whimper in pain as the door connected with his toe and she hid a smile.

In less than five minutes, Beckett had managed to make herself ready for work, clad in black jeans and a faded button down top. She tucked her jacket over one arm, tucking her gun into its holster before looking up at Castle, who watched her quietly.

"No comments about how I locked you out of the bedroom?" She laughed, opening the apartment door, shoving him lightly out into the hall.

"I spent enough time in there last night," Castle waggled his eyebrows at her again, "I think it's time for you to do some detective work; right Beckett?" They stepped onto the elevator, Castle's arm wrapped loosely around Beckett's shoulders, doubling the elevator count. A young boy, about six, stood with his mother, playing with a toy helicopter. Seeing the two new people board the elevator, he straightened up, before noticing the gun at Beckett's waist.

"Is that real Ms. Beckett?" He apparently knew her but had never encountered her while on duty.

"Yes, it is Adam," Beckett smiled at him, looking at him fondly, "I'm a detective for the police."

"You help catch bad guys?" Adam looked at her, wonder alight in his blue eyes.

"Ms. Beckett sure does," Adam's mother put a hand on his shoulder, lowering her voice slightly, "Sorry about that Kate, he's to the age where he's interested in talking to everyone and anyone he sees." She pulled Adam to her side, tucking the toy he held in her purse as the elevator jolted to a halt.

"Bye," Beckett strode off the elevator, leaving Castle to hurry after her, ignoring his remarks about calling a cab. She headed into the garage, making a beeline towards her car, leaving Castle to hurry after her.

- - -

"There you two are," Lanie looked up, seeing both Castle and Beckett hurry in the morgue, looking annoyed. "We were starting to wonder where you two went."

"Shut up," Beckett hit Lanie over the shoulder with her free hand, the other still unconsciously gripping Castle's.

"Hem, have something you want to talk to me about girl?" Lanie hissed in Beckett's ear, glancing knowingly at her and Castle's hands.

"No," Beckett dropped Castle's hand, blushing furiously, "I had to drag him away from the doughnuts upstairs." She was thankful that there actually _were _doughnuts upstairs, and the fact that Castle had wanted to grab one to eat.

"The last jelly filled one is probably gone now!" Castle whined, "Those are my favorite ones, and Alexis' too, I could have gotten it for her." Lanie and Beckett both laughed, turning to look as Ryan and Esposito joined them, the latter holding the jelly doughnut Castle had wanted.

"You took my doughnut." Castle stated, staring at the doughnut in Esposito's hand.

"Can we note the fact that these two," Lanie glanced at Marie James and Ricky Andersen, "Were killed within the past four hours? And, Ryan and Esposito already took the liberty of checking on Mr. James, he's been in the bar of the hotel for the past five hours."

"Five hours?!" Beckett exclaimed, shocked, "Alone?"

"Exactly," Ryan held up a tape, "Already checked the whole roll. Came in around three and was still sitting in the same place, alone, when the tape ended."

"So who …?" Castle and Beckett exchanged looks, before looking at the other three occupants in the room.

**

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AN: So ... any ideas on who did it now?**

**x **


	13. Chapter Twelve

**AN: Sorry guys, excuse the impossible wait. I seemed to lose my muse for writing in general for about a month, but it's back. Just a heads-up that I am now working on three different stories and have the end of the school year coming up. Updates will be published when they can be.**

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Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Twelve _

They were back at the murder board; Beckett pacing back and forth, Ryan bouncing a tennis ball off the wall, Esposito drinking a cup of coffee, and Castle sitting in Beckett's chair, spinning in a circle. Tapping a pen against the desk, Lanie joined them, pretending to be interested in the murder board as well, but her eyes flicked between Castle and Beckett.

"What?" Beckett turned after spotting Lanie standing by her desk. "We're deep in thought." She gave Castle a knowing glare, "Right Castle?" He stopped spinning, looking at her innocently.

"What was the teacher doing there?" Ryan asked aloud, "And how did he not see the mom and boyfriend?"

"Ryan!" Esposito hit him over the head with a newspaper, "The teacher showed up after we did, remember?" Then he sat up, "The teacher got a call from Elizabeth's dad, telling her to meet him at the hotel room. Did the dad have his phone out while in the lounge?"

"No idea," Castle stood, grabbing his jacket off the chair's back as Beckett elbowed him out of it. "Hey, I was comfortable!" He sat in his regular chair, his knee just barely touching Beckett's, his eyes trained on her movements.

"You're creeping me out Castle," Beckett looked at him, internally flattered that he couldn't keep his eyes off her, "Stop with the googly eyes." Both Ryan and Esposito snickered at that, while Lanie raised her eyebrows at Castle's embarrassment.

"Why don't you guys ask the teacher guy to come in and find out when the call was made?" Lanie suggested, "You have the cell number for the father, along with the mother's, and the hotel room's number. Check the teacher's contact history and see where he's been."

"Good idea," Ryan picked up the phone, dialing the teacher, before anyone could say another word.

"Wait." Castle stopped, grabbing the phone and hanging it up, "The teacher is supposed to be here. Where is he?"

"He left," Lanie couldn't resist grinning, "You and Beckett weren't here." She couldn't help smirking at that fact, guessing – and half knowing – that the two had been together.

"Shut up," Beckett turned around in her chair, hitting Lanie in the arm with the newspaper Esposito had been holding. "Never. Ever. Insinuate. That. Castle. And. I. Are. Together. Ever. Again. Got it?"

Castle snorted and everyone looked at him, confused. "But ..." he began, "It's true."

"Richard Castle!" Beckett shrieked, "You idiot!" It was Castle's turn to be hit over the head with the newspaper and this time, it was numerous whacks, instead of one smack.

"You two _are _together?" Lanie couldn't help contain her excitement, or her laughter, "No wonder you two have been so secretive around us all."

"I swear to God, if any of you tell anyone," Beckett was blushing furiously, the newspaper sitting on the desk and her hand now in Castle's, "You are all going to personally be shot by me."

"Yikes." Ryan and Esposito pretended to look frightened, cowering behind Lanie's shoulders.

"See? You two are holding hands," Lanie started, her squeal peeking though as she went on, causing Ryan and Esposito to look at her in surprise. "The two of you are freaking adorable together, have you two ever realized how much cuteness you two have together?"

"Can I remind you; murder, mysteries, dead people?" Beckett let go of Castle's hand, standing and pacing in front of the murder board again. "You three can stop questioning the two of us about our relationship now."

"Fine," Ryan turned suddenly, holding out his hand to Esposito, palm up. "You owe me, count out each dollar, slowly so I can hear the pain in your voice as you lose a hundred and fifty over that bet."

"What bet?" Castle, Beckett and Lanie all looked at them, Beckett being the one to speak. "And on what?"

"Nothing," Esposito quickly slapped the three fifties into his partner's hand, looking innocently at the murder board. "Any ideas?"

"Was this bet on Castle and I?" Beckett asked, "I thought that we all agreed on not betting on anything at work. And especiallynot our personal lives." Castle stood, wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her neck lightly.

"The only agreement was not on anything work related," Ryan pocketed the money, smirking at a surprised Lanie and an embarrassed Beckett. "Do you really think it was work related?"

"You two are lucky that Kate hasn't killed you guys by now," Castle pretended to look surprised, "Now, each one of you owe us double that amount." He looked at Lanie, "And I'm including you in that too." He dropped his arms from around Beckett's waist, leaning against her desk, staring at the murder board quietly.

"Want some coffee?" Esposito asked, standing and heading into the break room, "I need some." Ryan and Lanie followed him, leaving Castle and Beckett alone in the bullpen together.

"Really?" Beckett looked at him, before looking back towards the murder board, "You want them to pay us because we got together?" She hid her smirk, sweeping her hair out of her face,"That's insane, even for you."

"Don't worry about it," Castle whispered in her ear, "It's only to get them out of the habit of expecting us to agree with these bets. They just lost all the money they got from betting on our relationship Kate." He kissed her cheek lightly, "Teach them not to make bets in front of us, or about us, anymore."

"Cute," Beckett agreed, and she picked up a pencil, twirling it between her fingers. "So we've got Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth and her boyfriend all dead. Those two most recent murders weren't committed by Elizabeth's father directly because he has the alibi of being in the hotel's lounge within their time of death." She drummed her fingers on the table, "Yet, there isn't anything that hints that Elizabeth's father didn't kill her; he has everything on his side except the law. He's got money and connections, what more could the guy want?"

"For his daughter to be left alone from some guy who he thinks she's wasting her time on," Castle looked at her. "And even after his daughter is dead, the boyfriend keeps trying to show that he cares, so he knocks off him as well. Then the wife just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, finds out the her husband killed the boyfriend, and after she threatens to squeal, the husband decides to off her too."

"Whoa," Ryan and Esposito were back, "Did we just hear Castle solve a case?"

"No, you did not." Beckett countered, "You only heard him try to explain what the killer's motivation was."

"Oh, so the part where the husband decides to off his wife isn't important to our investigation?" Ryan set down the laptop he was carrying, "Then again, with this, none of that may be important." He plugged in the charger, booting ancient looking portable up.

"What's going on?" Beckett had perched herself on the arm of Castle's chair, "New evidence?"

"Not only that," Esposito took Beckett's chair, typing in a password on the laptop, "We've got a new suspect."

"Who?" Castle looked up with interest, "All leads were directed at the dad ten minutes ago."

"The boyfriend," Esposito was clicking through files and webpages, before he pulled up one – a blog. "Read this."

_I have no clue how I should react to this – Elizabeth's parents don't want us to be together anymore, but I love her. She loves me back, and somehow, we will be together. No matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, Elizabeth and I will be together. Even if it takes death, I'll prove that I would do anything for her._

"So?" Beckett looked up, "He's a teen making a statement about how he would do anything to have his girlfriend back? Teenagers of both genders do that all the time when they breakup."

"They also do this...?" Ryan pointed to a file entitled 'Ideas' as Esposito clicked it open.

"Oh my God." Beckett stared at the file, skimming the letter's contents, before her eyes landed on an image. It was Elizabeth two days before she had been murdered, in Times Square, with Ricky Andersen.

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**AN: Comments? **

**x**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Summary: After a sixteen year-old girl is found murdered in the middle of Times Square during a group photo, it leads Castle to think on his relationships with the people he is closest to. Castle/Beckett.

AN: Hi guys, hate me for the crappy final chapter. Major writer's block is just going away.

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Innocent Brown Eyes

_Chapter Thirteen _

One week earlier …

The room was crowded, and messy, the small size not helping the non-existent organization habits of the teenager who seemed to spend his life there. Books were stacked on shelves, the edge of the bed and the windowsill – shiny new textbooks were mixed in with the old, tattered murder mysteries and many pages contained small dog-ears. Various articles of clothing littered the floor, covering the wooden floor and bedspread, and it was impossible to tell if any of the items were clean or dirty. A pile of empty, crushed Rockstar drinks were overflowing from a plastic blue trashcan, and more littered the small wooden desk and bed.

Ricky Andersen was seated at his desk, obviously not bothered by the state of disarray that his room was in, staring intently at his laptop's screen. The room was well-lit and it made the small font on the screen hard to read from in the glare. He kept glancing towards his bed, and namely at a small black box that was half-hidden under his bed, wrapped almost completely in black electrical tape. As the lock in the door clicked, he jumped up and slammed the top of his laptop closed, turning to face the intruder on his room.

"Ricky?" Elizabeth James stood in the doorway, her hair framing her face perfectly, "You texted me earlier?"

"Oh, yeah." Black sneakers scuffed on the carpet as Ricky crossed the room to wrap his girlfriend in a tight hug. He turned away from her the moment after he had his arms around her, cutting off the embrace, and walked to his closet, facing away from her.

"What about?" Elizabeth obviously wasn't bothered by the mess as she pushed some stuff aside on the bed so she could sit, allowing her feet to hang over the edge, the red Converse sneakers hitting the box slightly. It rattled, and she bent to lift it into her hands, but Ricky, having caught sight of her movements, nearly bounded across the room to take it from her.

"Careful!" He hid it behind his back, not completely realizing the weight of the object inside, before hiding away in his closet in a matter of seconds. "It's for my mom," he lied, sitting at his desk again, "birthday gift."

**- innocent brown eyes - **

_Present day …_

"There was a box of bullets under his bed?" Beckett stared at the small red box which sat on her desk, wrapped in an evidence bag. She glanced up at her two co-workers, Ryan and Esposito, who grinned widely as if they had just discovered that the lottery and then towards Lanie and Castle, who watched, amused at the duo's looks.

"They match the gun too," Lanie slapped down a bagged bullet that they had discovered in Elizabeth's chest, "Same with the two bullets found in her mother and the one in Ricky. He must have committed suicide afterward, that's why the gun was still in the hotel room." She pulled out a few photos from Ricky Andersen's autopsy, flipping through them until she reached a few photos. "Here," she pointed to the gunshot wound on Ricky's body, "The suicide would explain this bruising on his arm, so it would look as if someone killed him, but with this new information that it's a suicide then all the bruising is explained."

"Yes!" Esposito looked a lot more pleased than he should have after solving a double murder and suicide case, and after receiving looks from the others surrounding Beckett's desk, he covered his obvious confusing response. "I mean … well, we should be glad, we've just discovered that a sixteen year-old killed his girlfriend and her mother before deciding to commit suicide."

"I agree," Beckett was first to speak, "No matter what happens, or what Ricky's emotions were, there's no explanation for him to find reason to kill his girlfriend and her mother." She stood, tucking the folder under her arm and strode off, leaving Ryan, Esposito, Castle and Lanie to stare after her.

"What?" Lanie was confused, "Did we say anything?"

"No idea," Castle was already out of his chair, following after Beckett, "You three decide what we're going to tell the father, and Andersen's parents, I'll go find Beckett." He was out of sight after his new girlfriend almost as fast as she had gone, the medical examiner and duo left to stare at one another, curious.

"I … should we call Ricky Andersen's family first? Or Elizabeth's father?" Lanie asked quietly, knowing that she would be able to handle control over the two boys better than they would over each other. "I mean, you two would be making the calls, I assume, but you should decide now."

"I guess we could call both of them at once, prevent any sort of conflicts?" Ryan suggested, flipping through a notepad, "I mean, Elizabeth's dad might hang up and try and contact Ricky's parents the moment he hears that his daughter's ex-boyfriend killed his wife and daughter." He tore off a small sheet of paper, writing a number down on it, and handed it to Esposito. He dragged his partner off, muttering something about him calling Ricky's parents while Esposito called Elizabeth's father.

**- innocent brown eyes -**

"Kate?" Castle finally caught up with Beckett in the training room, finding her firing bullets at the metal figures on the opposite wall. He had a set of the odd-looking headphones on and he stepped up besides her, watching her fire off round after round of blanks into the metal. "Beckett?" His voice was just above a whisper, and he knew that she couldn't hear his voice unless he bothered to shout. That was almost how he wanted it – he wanted Beckett to notice him waiting besides her, not force her attention onto him.

"Castle," she turned, her gun back in its holster, almost as soon as his thoughts disappeared, and Beckett removed the headphones, leaning to kiss him lightly on the cheek. Moving past him, she discarded the headphones by the entrance and left quietly, still not saying anything else to him.

"Kate?" Castle grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards him so they could stand together in the doorway of the training room. He held her smaller hands in his, gripping them tightly so she isn't able to let go and looked her into the eyes.

Wordlessly, the two of them move forwards, their lips crashing together in a passionate kiss that would have sent any intruding visitors running from the room. Beckett had pulled her hands free of Castle's tight grasp and wound them tightly around his neck, pulling her into his embrace. In return, Castle's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist as their kiss deepened.

Not even minutes later, the two of them are pulling back, breathless for air, and they both hurry up the wooden steps to the elevators, their hands clasped. The two of them met Lanie in the bullpen, finding her standing with Esposito and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Dinner?" Ryan rounded the corner, two brown boxes of pizza in his hands. He set them down and grabbed himself a slice quickly. Esposito, Castle and Lanie grabbed slices next, before leaving Beckett to go last. They settled down around in chairs, leaving the people around them to continue on with their work, only knowing that tomorrow would lead to a new case and more time on the job.


End file.
